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<h1>A Japanese guide to Japanese grammar</h1>

<br /><br /><br />

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
<tr><td>
<div class="outline">
<!-- outline menu -->
<center><span class="summary">Outline</span></center>
<ol>
<li><a href="#part1.start.html">The problem with conventional textbooks</a></li>
<li><a href="#part2.start.html">A Japanese guide to Japanese grammar</a></li>
<li><a href="#part3.start.html">What is not covered in this guide?</a></li>
<li><a href="#part4.start.html">Suggestions</a></li>
<li><a href="#part5.start.html">Requirements</a></li>
</ol>
</div>
</td></tr>
</table>

<h2 id="part1.start.html">The problem with conventional textbooks</h2>
The problem with conventional textbooks is that they often have the following goals.
<ol>
<li>They want readers to be able to use functional and polite Japanese as quickly as possible.</li>
<li>They don't want to scare readers away with terrifying Japanese script and Chinese characters.</li>
<li>They want to teach you how to say English phrases in Japanese.</li>
</ol>
Traditionally with romance languages such as Spanish, these goals presented no problems or were nonexistent due to the similarities to English.
However, because Japanese is different in just about every way down to the fundamental ways of thinking, these goals create many of the confusing textbooks you
see on the market today.
They are usually filled with complicated rules and countless number of grammar for specific English phrases.
They also contain almost no kanji and so when you finally arrive in Japan, lo and behold, you discover you can't read menus, maps, or essentially
anything at all because the book decided you weren't smart enough to memorize Chinese characters.

<p>The root of this problem lies in the fact that these textbooks try to teach you Japanese with English. They want to teach you on the first page how to say,
"Hi, my name is Smith," but they don't tell you about all the arbitrary decisions that were made behind your back. They probably decided to
use the polite form even though learning the polite form before the dictionary form makes no sense. They also might have decided to include
the subject even though it's not necessary and excluded most of the time. In fact, the most common way to say something
like "My name is Smith" in Japanese is to say "am Smith". That's because most of the information is understood from the context and is therefore excluded.
But does the textbook explain the way things work in Japanese fundamentally? No, because they're too busy trying to push you out the door with
"useful" phrases right off the bat. The result is a confusing mess of "use this if you want to say this" type of text and the reader is left with a feeling of
confusion about how things actually <i>work</i>.
</p>

<p>The solution to this problem is to explain Japanese from a Japanese point of view. Take Japanese and
explain how it works and forget about trying to force what you want to say in English into Japanese. To go along with this, it is also important to explain
things in an order that makes sense in Japanese. If you need to know [A] in order to understand [B], don't cover [B] first just because you want to teach a certain phrase.
</p>

<p>Essentially, what we need is a <i>Japanese</i> guide to learning Japanese grammar.
</p>

<h2 id="part2.start.html">A Japanese guide to learning Japanese grammar</h2>
This guide is an attempt to systematically build up the grammatical structures that make up the Japanese language in a way that makes sense in
Japanese.  It may not be a practical tool for quickly learning immediately useful Japanese phrases (for example, common phrases for travel).
However, it will logically create grammatical building blocks that will result in a solid grammatical foundation.  For those of you who have
learned Japanese from textbooks, you may see some big differences in how the material is ordered and
presented.  This is because this guide does not seek to forcibly create artificial ties between English and Japanese by presenting the material in
a way that makes sense in English.  Instead, examples with translations will show how ideas are expressed in Japanese resulting in simpler explanations
that are easier to understand.
<p>In the beginning, the English translations for the
examples will
also be as literal as possible to convey the Japanese sense of the meaning.  This will often result in grammatically incorrect translations in English.
For example, the translations might not have a subject because Japanese does not require one.  In addition, since the articles "the" and "a" do
not exist in Japanese, the translations will not have them as well.  And since Japanese does not
distinguish between a future action and a general statement (such as "I will go to the store" vs. "I go to the store"), no distinction will necessarily
be made in the translation. It is my hope that the explanation of the examples will convey an accurate sense of what
the sentences actually mean <b>in Japanese</b>.
Once the reader becomes familiar and comfortable thinking in Japanese, the translations will be less literal in order to
make the sentences more readable and focused on the more advanced topics. </p>
<p>
Be aware that there are advantages and disadvantages to systematically building a grammatical foundation
from the ground up.  In Japanese, the most fundamental grammatical concepts are the most difficult to grasp and the most common words
have the most exceptions.  This means that the hardest part of the language will come first.  Textbooks usually don't take this approach;
afraid that this will scare away or frustrate those interested in the language.  Instead, they try to delay going deeply into the hardest conjugation
rules with
patchwork and gimmicks so that they can start teaching useful expressions right away.  (I'm talking about the past-tense conjugation for verbs in
particular)  This is a fine approach for some, however;
it can create more confusion and trouble along the way much like building a house on a poor foundation.  The hard parts must be covered no
matter what. However, if you cover them in the beginning, the easier bits will be all that easier because they'll fit nicely on top of the foundation
you have built.  Japanese is syntactically much more consistent than English.  If you learn the hardest conjugation rules, most of remaining
grammar builds upon similar or identical rules.  The only difficult part from there on
is sorting out and remembering all the various possible expressions and combinations in order to use them in the correct situations.
</p>

<p>※Before you start using this guide, please note that half brackets like these: 「」 are the Japanese version of quotation marks.
</p>

<h2 id="part3.start.html">What is not covered in this guide?</h2>
The primary principle in deciding what to cover in this guide is by asking myself, "What cannot be looked up in a dictionary?" or
"What is poorly explained in a dictionary?"  In working on this guide, it soon became apparent that it was not possible to discuss the unique
properties of each individual word that doesn't correspond well to English.  (I tried making vocabulary lists but soon gave up.)
Occasionally, there will be a description of the properties of specific
words when the context is appropriate and the property is exceptional enough.  However, in general, learning the nuance of each and every
word is left to the reader.  For example, you will not see an explanation that the word for "tall" can either mean tall or expensive, or
that "dirty" can mean sneaky or unfair but cannot mean sexually perverted.  The edict dictionary, which can be found
<a href="http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~jwb/wwwjdic.html">here</a> (mirrors also available) is an extensive
dictionary that not only contains much more entries than conventional dictionaries in bookstores, it also often contains example sentences.  It
will help you learn vocabulary much better than I ever could.  I also suggest not wasting any money on
buying a Japanese-English, English-Japanese paper dictionary as most currently in print in the US market are woefully inadequate.  (Wow, it's free
and it's better!  Remind anyone of open-source?)

<h2 id="part4.start.html">Suggestions</h2>
My advice to you when practicing Japanese: if you find
yourself trying to figure out how to say an English thought in Japanese, save yourself the trouble and quit because you won't get it right almost
100% of the time.  You should always keep this in mind: <b>If you don't know how to say it already, then you
don't know how to say it.</b> Instead, if you can, ask someone right away how to say it in Japanese including a full explanation of its use and start your practice
<b>from Japanese</b>.
Language is not a math problem; you don't have to figure out the answer.  If you practice from the answer, you will develop good
habits that will help you formulate correct and natural Japanese sentences.
<p>This is why I'm a firm believer of learning by example.  Examples and experience will be your main tools in mastering Japanese.  Therefore,
even if you don't get something completely the first time right away, just move on and keep referring
back as you see more examples.  This will allow you to get a better sense of how it's used in many different contexts.
Unfortunately, writing up examples takes time and is slow going.  (I'm trying my best!)
But lucky for you, Japanese is everywhere, especially on the web.
I recommend practicing Japanese as much as possible and referring to this guide only when you cannot understand the grammar.
The Internet alone has a rich variety of reading
materials including websites, bulletin boards, and online chat.  Buying Japanese books or comic books is also an excellent (and fun) way to
increase vocabulary and practice reading skills.  Also, I believe that it is <i>impossible</i> to learn correct speaking and listening skills without a
model.  Practicing listening and speaking skills with fluent speakers of Japanese is a <i>must</i> if you wish to master conversational skills.  While
listening materials such as tapes and T.V. can be very educational, there is nothing better than a real human with which to learn pronunciation,
intonation, and natural conversation flow.  If you have specific questions that are not addressed in this guide, you can discuss them at the
<a href="http://www.guidetojapanese.org/forum/">Japanese grammar guide forum.</a></p>

<p><a href="http://www.guidetojapanese.org/forum/">www.guidetojapanese.org/forum/</a></p>

<p>Don't feel discouraged by the vast amount of material that you will need to master.
Remember, every new word or grammar learned is one step closer to mastering the language!</p>

<h2 id="part5.start.html">Requirements</h2>
Since Japanese is written in Japanese in this guide (as it should be and NOT in romaji) your browser must be able to display Japanese fonts.
If 「こんにちは」 does not look like <span class="bottom"><img src="konnichiwa.gif" alt="こんにちは"  /></span> (minus differences in fonts),
then you need to install Japanese language support or use some kind of gateway to convert the
characters.  Links to instructions and a translation gateway are below.

<p>
 <a href="http://www.alanwood.net/unicode/browsers.html">Japanese Language Support</a>
<br />
 <a href="http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~jwb/jviewer.html">Translation Gateway</a> (Considerably slower)
</p>
<p>
Also, please make sure you have a recent browser to enjoy all the benefits of stylesheets. I recommend <a href="http://www.mozilla.org/products/firefox/">Firefox</a>.
</p>

<p>Don't worry about having to manually look up all the Kanji and vocabulary.
You can go to the <a href="http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/cgi-bin/cgiwrap/jwb/wwwjdic?9T">WWWJDIC</a> and paste all the examples there
to quickly look up most of the words.</p>

<p>
All the material presented here including examples is original except for some of the common terminology and when explicitly stated otherwise.
I hope you enjoy this guide as much as I enjoyed writing it.  Which is to say, frustrating and time-consuming
yet somehow strangely mixed with an enormous feeling of satisfaction.
</p>

<p>There are bound to be (many) small errors and typos especially since I wrote this in ed, haha, just kidding!  (Sorry, nerd joke).
I actually wrote this in Notepad which has no spellcheck, so please forgive the
numerous typos! Please post any feedback, corrections, and/or suggestions at the <a href="http://www.guidetojapanese.org/forum/">Japanese Grammar Guide Forum</a>
</p>

<p>Well, no more chit-chat.  Happy learning!
<br /><br />-Tae Kim
</p>



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<p class="copyright">Copyright &copy; 2003-2007 Tae Kim (taekim.japanese AT gmail.com)</p>
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<div class="small" style="text-align:right;"><pre>This page has last been revised on 2005/6/8
Changed feedback from email to the forum (2005/6/8)</pre></div>

<br class="break"/>
<h1>The Japanese Writing System</h1>

<br /><br />

<p align="right"><i>Japanese (n): The devil's own tongue designed <br /> to thwart the spread of Christianity</i></p>

<h2>The Alphabets</h2>
Japanese consists of two alphabets (or kana) called <i>hiragana</i> and <i>katakana</i>, which are two versions of the same set of sounds in the language.
Hiragana and katakana consist of a little less than 50 "letters", which are actually simplified Chinese characters adopted to form a phonetic alphabet.

<p>Chinese characters, called <i>kanji</i> in Japanese, are also heavily used in the Japanese writing.
Most of the words in the Japanese written language are written in kanji (nouns, verbs, adjectives).  There exists over 40,000 kanji where about
2,000 represent over 95% of characters actually used in written text.  There are no spaces in Japanese so kanji is necessary in distinguishing
between separate words within a sentence.
Kanji is also useful for discriminating between homophones, which occurs quite often given the limited
number of distinct sounds in Japanese.</p>

<p>Hiragana is used mainly for grammatical purposes.  We will see this as we learn about particles.  Words with extremely difficult or rare kanji,
colloquial expressions, and onomatopoeias are also written in hiragana.  It's also often used for beginning
Japanese students and children in place of kanji they don't know. </p>

<p>While katakana represents the same sounds as
hiragana, it is mainly used to represent newer words imported from western countries (since there are no kanji associated with words based on the
roman alphabet). The next three sections will cover hiragana, katakana, and kanji.</p>

<h2>Intonation</h2>
As you will find out in the next section, every character in hiragana (and the katakana equivalent) corresponds to a [vowel] or [consonant + vowel]
syllable sound with the single exception of the 「ん」 and 「ン」 character (more on this later).  This system of letter for each syllable sound makes
pronunciation absolutely clear with no ambiguities.  However, the simplicity of this system does not mean that pronunciation in Japanese is simple.
In fact, the rigid structure of the fixed syllable sound in Japanese creates the problem of intonation in place of the difficulties that exist in separate
consonant and vowel alphabets such as the English alphabet.

<p>Intonation of high and low pitches is a crucial aspect of the spoken language.  For example, homophones can have different pitches of low and
high resulting in a slightly differently sounding of the word even if it is written with the same sounds.  The largest barrier to proper and natural sounding speech
is incorrect intonation.  Many students often speak without paying attention to the correct enunciation of pitches making speech sound unnatural
(the classic foreigner's accent).  It is not practical to memorize or attempt to logically create rules for pitches, especially since it can change depending on the context
or the dialect. The only practical approach is to get the general sense of pitches by mimicking native Japanese speakers with careful listening
and practice.
</p>

<div class="sumbox">
<div class="outtitle">Lessons covered in this section</div>
<ul>
<li><a href="hiragana.html">Hiragana</a> - The main Japanese phonetic alphabet.  It is used mostly for grammatical purposes.  It can also be used
to show the reading for rare or obsolete kanji or as a substitute altogether.  This lesson will go over all the letters in hiragana.</li>
<li><a href="katakana.html">Katakana</a> - An alphabet used generally to distinguish non-native words that does not have any kanji
associated with it.  This lesson will go over all the letters in katakana.</li>
<li><a href="kanji.html">Kanji</a> - An adoption of the Chinese writing system for Japanese.  This lesson describes some general properties of
kanji as well as some strategies for learning kanji (correctly).</li>
</ul>
</div>

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<p>
<a href="http://www.guidetojapanese.org/forum/viewforum.php?id=18">Report a correction or suggestion for this page</a>
</p>
</div>

<div class="small" style="text-align:right;"><pre>This page has last been revised on 2004/11/24</pre></div>

<br class="break"/>
<h1>ひらがな</h1>

<br /><br /><br />

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
<tr><td>
<div class="outline">
<!-- outline menu -->
<center><span class="summary">Outline</span></center>
<ol>
<li><a href="#part1.hiragana.html">What is Hiragana?</a></li>
<li><a href="#part2.hiragana.html">The Muddied Sounds</a></li>
<li><a href="#part3.hiragana.html">The Small 「や」、「ゆ」、and 「よ」</a></li>
<li><a href="#part4.hiragana.html">The Small 「つ」</a></li>
<li><a href="#part5.hiragana.html">The Long Vowel Sound</a></li>
</ol>

</div>
</td></tr>
</table>


<h2 id="part1.hiragana.html">What is Hiragana?</h2>
<i>Hiragana</i> is the basic Japanese phonetic alphabet.  It represents every sound in the Japanese language.  Therefore, you can
theoretically write everything in hiragana.  However, because Japanese is written with no spaces, this will create nearly indecipherable text.
<p>Here is a table of hiragana and similar-sounding English consonant-vowel pronunciations. It is read up to down and right to left, which is how most
Japanese books are written.
In Japanese, writing the strokes in the correct order and direction is important, especially for kanji.  Because handwritten letters look slightly
different from typed letters (just like how 'a' looks totally different when typed) you will want to find a source such as a website or textbook
that will show you how to write the characters.
I must also stress the importance of correctly learning how to pronounce each sound.  Since every word in Japanese is composed of these sounds,
learning an incorrect pronunciation for a letter can severely damage the very foundation on which your pronunciation lies.
</p>

<p />
<center>
<table border="1" cellpadding="8" class="bigger">
<caption>Hiragana Table 1</caption>
<tr align="center"><th>n</th> <th>w</th> <th>r</th> <th>y</th> <th>m</th> <th>h</th>
    <th>n</th> <th>t</th> <th>s</th> <th>k</th> <th>&nbsp;</th><th>&nbsp;</th></tr>

<tr align="center"><td>ん</td> <td>わ</td> <td>ら</td> <td>や</td> <td>ま</td> <td>は</td>
    <td>な</td> <td>た</td> <td>さ</td> <td>か</td> <td>あ</td> <th>a</th></tr>

<tr align="center"><td class="empty">&nbsp;</td> <td>ゐ*</td> <td>り</td> <td class="empty">&nbsp;</td> <td>み</td> <td>ひ</td> <td>に</td>
    <td>ち<br /><span class="small">(chi)</span></td> <td>し<br /><span class="small">(shi)</span></td> <td>き</td> <td>い</td> <th>i</th></tr>

<tr align="center"><td class="empty">&nbsp;</td><td class="empty">&nbsp;</td><td>る</td> <td>ゆ</td> <td>む</td> <td>ふ<br /><span class="small">(fu)</span></td> <td>ぬ</td>
    <td>つ<br /><span class="small">(tsu)</span></td> <td>す</td> <td>く</td> <td>う</td> <th>u</th></tr>

<tr align="center"><td class="empty">&nbsp;</td> <td>ゑ*</td> <td>れ</td> <td class="empty">&nbsp;</td> <td>め</td> <td>へ</td>
    <td>ね</td> <td>て</td> <td>せ</td> <td>け</td> <td>え</td> <th>e</th></tr>

<tr align="center"><td class="empty">&nbsp;</td> <td>を</td> <td>ろ</td> <td>よ</td> <td>も</td> <td>ほ</td> <td>の</td>
    <td>と</td> <td>そ</td> <td>こ</td> <td>お</td> <th>o</th></tr>
</table>
* = obsolete (ie no longer used)


</center>

<p>Hiragana is not too tough to master or teach and as a result, there are a variety of web sites and free programs that are already
available on the web.
I strongly urge you to go to this <a href="http://www.sf.airnet.ne.jp/~ts/japanese/cover.html">web site</a> to hear the pronunciations of
each character.  The relevant sections are 2.1 to 2.11.
I also suggest recording yourself and comparing the sounds to make sure you're getting it right.</p>

<p>When practicing writing hiragana by hand,
the important thing to remember is that the stroke order and direction of the strokes <em><b><u><i>matter</i></u></b></em>.
There, I underlined, italicized, bolded, and highlighted it to boot.  Trust me, you'll eventually find out why when you read other people's
hasty notes that are nothing more than chicken scrawls.  The only thing that will help you is that everybody writes in the same order and so the
"flow" of the characters is fairly consistent. I <u>strongly</u> recommend that you pay close attention to stroke order
from the beginning starting with hiragana to avoid falling into bad habits.  Go to this
<a href="http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Shrine/7047/hboth.htm">web site</a> to see little animated gifs of stroke order and
practice from there.</p>

<p>※ As an aside, an old Japanese poem called 「いろは」 was often used as the base for ordering of the hiragana alphabet until recent times.
The poem contains every single letter of the hiragana alphabet except for 「ん」 which probably did not exist at the time it was written.
You can check out this poem for yourself in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iroha">this wikipedia article</a>. As the article mentions,
this order is still sometimes used in ordering lists so you may want to spend some time checking it out.
</p>

<div class="sumbox">
<span class="summary">Notes</span>
<ol>
<li>Except for 「し」、「ち」、「つ」、and 「ん」、you can get a sense of how each letter is pronounced by matching the consonant on the top
row to the vowel.  For example, 「き」 would become / ki / and 「ゆ」 would become / yu / and so on.  </li>
<li>Go to this <a href="http://www.sf.airnet.ne.jp/~ts/japanese/cover.html">web site</a> to hear the pronunciations of
each hiragana character.  The relevant sections are from 2.1 to 2.11. </li>
<li>As you can see, not all sounds match the way
our consonant system works.  As written in the table, 「ち」 is pronounced "chi" and 「つ」 is pronounced "tsu".</li>
<li>The / r / or / l / sound in Japanese is quite different from any sound in English. It involves more of a roll and a clip by hitting the roof of
your mouth with your tongue.  Pay careful attention to that whole column.</li>
<li>Pay careful attention to the difference between / tsu / and / su /.</li>
<li>The 「ん」 character is a special character because it is rarely used by itself and does not have a vowel sound.  It is attached to another
character to add a / n / sound.  For example, 「かん」 becomes 'kan' instead of 'ka', 「まん」 becomes 'man' instead of 'ma', and so on and so forth.</li>
<li><u>You must learn the correct stroke order and direction!</u> Go to this
<a href="http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Shrine/7047/hboth.htm">web site</a> to learn.</li>
</ol>
</div>

<h2 id="part2.hiragana.html">The Muddied Sounds</h2>
Once you memorize all the characters in the hiragana alphabet you're done learning the alphabet but not all the sounds.
There are five more possible
consonant sounds that are possible by either affixing two tiny lines similar to a double quotation mark called <i>dakuten</i> （濁点）
or a tiny circle called <i>handakuten</i> （半濁点）.  This essentially
creates a "muddy" or less clipped version of the consonant (technically called a voiced consonant or 「濁り」, which literally means to become muddy).

<p>All the possible combinations of muddied consonant sounds are given in the table below.</p>

<p />
<center>
<table border="1" cellpadding="8" class="bigger">
<caption>Muddied Consonant Sounds</caption>
<tr align="center"><th>p</th> <th>b</th> <th>d</th> <th>z</th> <th>g</th><th>&nbsp;</th></tr>

<tr align="center"><td>ぱ</td> <td>ば</td> <td>だ</td> <td>ざ</td> <td>が</td> <th>a</th></tr>

<tr align="center"><td>ぴ</td> <td>び</td> <td>ぢ<br /><span class="small">(ji)</span></td> <td>じ<br /><span class="small">(ji)</span></td> <td>ぎ</td> <th>i</th></tr>

<tr align="center"><td>ぷ</td> <td>ぶ</td> <td>づ<br /><span class="small">(dzu)</span></td> <td>ず</td> <td>ぐ</td> <th>u</th></tr>

<tr align="center"><td>ぺ</td> <td>べ</td> <td>で</td> <td>ぜ</td> <td>げ</td> <th>e</th></tr>

<tr align="center"><td>ぽ</td> <td>ぼ</td> <td>ど</td> <td>ぞ</td> <td>ご</td> <th>o</th></tr>
</table>
</center>


<div class="sumbox">
<span class="summary">Notes</span>
<ol>
<li>Go to this <a href="http://www.sf.airnet.ne.jp/~ts/japanese/cover.html">web site</a> again to hear the pronunciations of
these new sounds.  The relevant parts are at the end of sections 2.2, 2.3, 2.4, and 2.6.</li>
<li>Notice that 「ぢ」 sounds essentially identical to 「じ」 and both are pronounced as / ji /, while 「づ」 is pronounced like / dzu /.</li>
</ol>
</div>

<h2 id="part3.hiragana.html">The Small 「や」、「ゆ」、and 「よ」</h2>
You can also combine a consonant with a / ya / yu / yo / sound by attaching a small 「や」、「ゆ」、or 「よ」 to
the / i / vowel character of each consonant.

<p />
<center>
<table border="1" cellpadding="8" class="bigger">
<caption>All possible small や、ゆ、and よ combinations</caption>
<tr align="center"><th>p</th> <th>b</th>  <th>j</th> <th>g</th> <th>r</th>
    <th>m</th> <th>h</th> <th>n</th> <th>c</th> <th>s</th> <th>k</th> <th>&nbsp;</th></tr>

<tr align="center"><td>ぴゃ</td> <td>びゃ</td> <td>じゃ</td> <td>ぎゃ</td> <td>りゃ</td>
    <td>みゃ</td> <td>ひゃ</td> <td>にゃ</td> <td>ちゃ</td> <td>しゃ</td> <td>きゃ</td> <th>ya</th></tr>

<tr align="center"><td>ぴゅ</td> <td>びゅ</td>  <td>じゅ</td> <td>ぎゅ</td> <td>りゅ</td>
    <td>みゅ</td> <td>ひゅ</td> <td>にゅ</td> <td>ちゅ</td> <td>しゅ</td> <td>きゅ</td> <th>yu</th></tr>

<tr align="center"><td>ぴょ</td> <td>びょ</td> <td>じょ</td> <td>ぎょ</td> <td>りょ</td>
    <td>みょ</td> <td>ひょ</td> <td>にょ</td> <td>ちょ</td> <td>しょ</td> <td>きょ</td> <th>yo</th></tr>
</table>
</center>

<div class="sumbox">
<span class="summary">Notes</span>
<ol>
<li>The above table is the same as before. Match the top consonants to the vowel sound on the right. Ex: きゃ = kya.</li>
<li>Go to this <a href="http://www.sf.airnet.ne.jp/~ts/japanese/double.html">web site</a> again to hear the pronunciations of
these new sounds.  The author has decided to include 「ぢゃ」、「ぢゅ」、and 「ぢょ」 but these combinations are actually never used in
favor of 「じゃ」、「じゅ」、and 「じょ」.</li>
<li>Also note that since 「じ」 is pronounced / ji /, all the small 「や」、「ゆ」、「よ」 sounds are also based off of that, namely; / jya / jyu / jyo /.</li>
<li>The same thing also applies to 「ち」 which becomes / cha / chu / cho / and 「し」 which becomes / sha / shu / sho /. (Though arguably, you can
still think of it as / sya / syu / syo /.)</li>
</ol>
</div>

<h2 id="part4.hiragana.html">The Small 「つ」</h2>
A small 「つ」 is inserted between two characters to carry the consonant sound of the second character to the end of the first.  For example,
if you inserted a small 「つ」 between 「び」 and 「く」 to make 「びっく」,
the / k / consonant sound is carried back to the end of the first character to produce "bikku".
Similarly, 「はっぱ」 becomes "happa", 「ろっく」 becomes "rokku" and so on and so forth.  I have provided my own simple
<a href="motomotto.mp3">mp3 file</a> to illustrate
the sound difference between 「もと」 and 「もっと」.  And in case you're wondering, both are actual words and yes, both mean different things.

<div class="sumbox">
<span class="summary">Notes</span>
<ol>
<li>A small 「つ」 is used to carry the consonant sound of the second character to the end of the first.
Ex: 「がっき」 = "ga<em>k</em>ki".</li>
<li>Download this <a href="motomotto.mp3">mp3 file</a> to hear the difference between 「もと」 and 「もっと」.</li>
<li>The addition of another consonant almost always creates the characteristic clipping sound.
But make sure you're clipping with the right consonant (the consonant of the second character).</li>
</ol>
</div>

<h2 id="part5.hiragana.html">The Long Vowel Sound</h2>
Whew! You're almost done.  In this last portion, we will go over the long vowel sound which is simply extending the duration of a vowel sound.
You can extend the vowel sound of a character by adding either 「あ」、「い」、or 「う」
depending on the vowel in accordance to the following chart.

<p />
<center>
<table border="1" cellpadding="5">
<caption>Extending Vowel Sounds</caption>
<tr align="center"><th>Vowel Sound</th><th>Extended by</th></tr>

<tr align="center"><td>/ a /</td><td>あ</td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td>/ i / e /</td><td>い</td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td>/ u / o /</td><td>う</td></tr>

</table>
</center>

<p>For example, if you wanted to create an extended vowel sound from 「か」, you would add 「あ」 to create 「かあ」.
Other examples would include:  「き → きい」, 「く → くう」, 「け → けい」, 「こ → こう」, 「さ → さあ」 and so on.  The reasoning for this is quite simple.
Try saying 「か」 and 「あ」 separately.  Then say them in succession as fast as you can.  You'll notice that soon enough, it just sounds like you're dragging
out the / ka / for a longer duration than just saying / ka / by itself.  You can try this exercise with the other vowel sounds if you like.
Try to remember that you are, in fact, saying two characters with blurred boundaries.  In fact, you may not even have to consciously
think about long vowels and simply pronounce the letters together quickly to get the correct sound.
</p>

<p>
In addition, while the / e / vowel sound followed by 「い」 is usually considered to a long vowel sound, the pronunciation is actually a slurred connection of the / e / and / i / vowel sounds. In other words, it should be pronounced like / ay / (as in "acorn") and not just a long / e /.
</p>

<p>It's important to make sure you hold the vowel sound long enough because you can be saying things like "here" （ここ） instead of "High School" （こうこう）
or "middle-aged lady" （おばさん） instead of "grandmother" （おばあさん） if you don't stretch it out correctly!
</p>

<p>There are rare exceptions where an / e / vowel sound is extended by adding 「え」 or an / o / vowel sound is extended by 「お」. Some examples of this
include 「おねえさん」、「おおい」、and 「おおきい」. Pay careful attention to these exceptions but don't worry, there aren't too many of them.
</p>

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<p class="copyright">Copyright &copy; 2003-2007 Tae Kim (taekim.japanese AT gmail.com)</p>
<p>
<a href="http://www.guidetojapanese.org/forum/viewforum.php?id=18">Report a correction or suggestion for this page</a>
</p>
</div>

<div class="small" style="text-align:right;"><pre>This page has last been revised on 2006/4/7
Added reference to 「いろは」 (2005/8/3)
/ei/ should be pronounced as /ay/ and not just a long /e/ (2006/4/7)
</pre></div>

<br class="break"/>
<h1>ひらがな Practice Exercises</h1>

<br /><br /><br />

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
<tr><td>
<div class="outline">
<!-- outline menu -->
<center><span class="summary">Outline</span></center>
<ol>
<li><a href="#part1.hiragana_ex.html">Fill in the Hiragana Chart</a></li>
<li><a href="#part2.hiragana_ex.html">Hiragana Writing Practice</a></li>
<li><a href="#part3.hiragana_ex.html">More Hiragana Writing Practice</a></li>
<li><a href="#part4.hiragana_ex.html">Hiragana Reading Practice</a></li>

</ol>
</div>
</td></tr>
<tr><td>
<div class="outline2">
<!-- outline menu -->
<center><span class="summary">PDF Printout</span></center>
<ol>
<li><a href="hiragana_trace_sheet.pdf">Hiragana Outlined Practice</a></li>
<li><a href="hiragana_prac_sheet.pdf">Hiragana Free Form Practice</a></li>
</ol>
</div>
</td></tr>
</table>

<noscript>
<div class="note">
<p><em>Warning!</em>
<br />You do not have javascript enabled. <br />
Sorry, but you need to have javascript turned on to see the answers to these exercises.</p>
</div>
</noscript>

<h2 id="part1.hiragana_ex.html">Fill in the Hiragana Chart</h2>
Though I already mentioned that there are many sites and helper programs for learning hiragana, I figured I should put in some exercises of my
own in the interest of completeness. I've removed the obsolete characters since you won't need to know them. I suggest playing around with
this chart and a scrap piece of paper to test your knowledge of hiragana.

<p />
<center>

<p>Click on the <u>flip</u> link to show or hide each character.</p>

<div id="exercise1">
<span class="bigger">Hiragana Table</span>
<table border="1" cellpadding="8" class="bigger">
<tr align="center"><th>n</th> <th>w</th> <th>r</th> <th>y</th> <th>m</th> <th>h</th>
    <th>n</th> <th>t</th> <th>s</th> <th>k</th> <th>&nbsp;</th><th>&nbsp;</th></tr>

<tr align="center">
 <td><span class="hide" id="n">ん</span><br /><span class="small"><a href="javascript:void(0)" onclick="flip('n');">flip</a></span></td>
 <td><span class="hide" id="wa">わ</span><br /><span class="small"><a href="javascript:void(0)" onclick="flip('wa');">flip</a></span></td>
 <td><span class="hide" id="ra">ら</span><br /><span class="small"><a href="javascript:void(0)" onclick="flip('ra');">flip</a></span></td>
 <td><span class="hide" id="ya">や</span><br /><span class="small"><a href="javascript:void(0)" onclick="flip('ya');">flip</a></span></td>

 <td><span class="hide" id="ma">ま</span><br /><span class="small"><a href="javascript:void(0)" onclick="flip('ma');">flip</a></span></td>
 <td><span class="hide" id="ha">は</span><br /><span class="small"><a href="javascript:void(0)" onclick="flip('ha');">flip</a></span></td>
 <td><span class="hide" id="na">な</span><br /><span class="small"><a href="javascript:void(0)" onclick="flip('na');">flip</a></span></td>
 <td><span class="hide" id="ta">た</span><br /><span class="small"><a href="javascript:void(0)" onclick="flip('ta');">flip</a></span></td>
 <td><span class="hide" id="sa">さ</span><br /><span class="small"><a href="javascript:void(0)" onclick="flip('sa');">flip</a></span></td>

 <td><span class="hide" id="ka">か</span><br /><span class="small"><a href="javascript:void(0)" onclick="flip('ka');">flip</a></span></td>
 <td><span class="hide" id="a">あ</span><br /><span class="small"><a href="javascript:void(0)" onclick="flip('a');">flip</a></span></td>
 <th>a</th>
</tr>

<tr align="center">
 <td class="empty">&nbsp;</td>
 <td class="empty">&nbsp;</td>

 <td><span class="hide" id="ri">り</span><br /><span class="small"><a href="javascript:void(0)" onclick="flip('ri');">flip</a></span></td>
 <td class="empty">&nbsp;</td>
 <td><span class="hide" id="mi">み</span><br /><span class="small"><a href="javascript:void(0)" onclick="flip('mi');">flip</a></span></td>
 <td><span class="hide" id="hi">ひ</span><br /><span class="small"><a href="javascript:void(0)" onclick="flip('hi');">flip</a></span></td>
 <td><span class="hide" id="ni">に</span><br /><span class="small"><a href="javascript:void(0)" onclick="flip('ni');">flip</a></span></td>

 <td><span class="hide" id="ti">ち</span><br /><span class="small"><a href="javascript:void(0)" onclick="flip('ti');">flip</a></span></td>
 <td><span class="hide" id="si">し</span><br /><span class="small"><a href="javascript:void(0)" onclick="flip('si');">flip</a></span></td>
 <td><span class="hide" id="ki">き</span><br /><span class="small"><a href="javascript:void(0)" onclick="flip('ki');">flip</a></span></td>
 <td><span class="hide" id="i">い</span><br /><span class="small"><a href="javascript:void(0)" onclick="flip('i');">flip</a></span></td>
 <th>i</th>

</tr>

<tr align="center">
 <td class="empty">&nbsp;</td>
 <td class="empty">&nbsp;</td>
 <td><span class="hide" id="ru">る</span><br /><span class="small"><a href="javascript:void(0)" onclick="flip('ru');">flip</a></span></td>
 <td><span class="hide" id="yu">ゆ</span><br /><span class="small"><a href="javascript:void(0)" onclick="flip('yu');">flip</a></span></td>
 <td><span class="hide" id="mu">む</span><br /><span class="small"><a href="javascript:void(0)" onclick="flip('mu');">flip</a></span></td>

 <td><span class="hide" id="fu">ふ</span><br /><span class="small"><a href="javascript:void(0)" onclick="flip('fu');">flip</a></span></td>
 <td><span class="hide" id="nu">ぬ</span><br /><span class="small"><a href="javascript:void(0)" onclick="flip('nu');">flip</a></span></td>
 <td><span class="hide" id="tu">つ</span><br /><span class="small"><a href="javascript:void(0)" onclick="flip('tu');">flip</a></span></td>
 <td><span class="hide" id="su">す</span><br /><span class="small"><a href="javascript:void(0)" onclick="flip('su');">flip</a></span></td>
 <td><span class="hide" id="ku">く</span><br /><span class="small"><a href="javascript:void(0)" onclick="flip('ku');">flip</a></span></td>

 <td><span class="hide" id="u">う</span><br /><span class="small"><a href="javascript:void(0)" onclick="flip('u');">flip</a></span></td>
 <th>u</th>
</tr>

<tr align="center">
 <td class="empty">&nbsp;</td>
 <td class="empty">&nbsp;</td>
 <td><span class="hide" id="re">れ</span><br /><span class="small"><a href="javascript:void(0)" onclick="flip('re');">flip</a></span></td>

 <td class="empty">&nbsp;</td>
 <td><span class="hide" id="me">め</span><br /><span class="small"><a href="javascript:void(0)" onclick="flip('me');">flip</a></span></td>
 <td><span class="hide" id="he">へ</span><br /><span class="small"><a href="javascript:void(0)" onclick="flip('he');">flip</a></span></td>
 <td><span class="hide" id="ne">ね</span><br /><span class="small"><a href="javascript:void(0)" onclick="flip('ne');">flip</a></span></td>
 <td><span class="hide" id="te">て</span><br /><span class="small"><a href="javascript:void(0)" onclick="flip('te');">flip</a></span></td>

 <td><span class="hide" id="se">せ</span><br /><span class="small"><a href="javascript:void(0)" onclick="flip('se');">flip</a></span></td>
 <td><span class="hide" id="ke">け</span><br /><span class="small"><a href="javascript:void(0)" onclick="flip('ke');">flip</a></span></td>
 <td><span class="hide" id="e">え</span><br /><span class="small"><a href="javascript:void(0)" onclick="flip('e');">flip</a></span></td>
 <th>e</th>
</tr>

<tr align="center">
 <td class="empty">&nbsp;</td>
 <td><span class="hide" id="wo">を</span><br /><span class="small"><a href="javascript:void(0)" onclick="flip('wo');">flip</a></span></td>
 <td><span class="hide" id="ro">ろ</span><br /><span class="small"><a href="javascript:void(0)" onclick="flip('ro');">flip</a></span></td>
 <td><span class="hide" id="yo">よ</span><br /><span class="small"><a href="javascript:void(0)" onclick="flip('yo');">flip</a></span></td>
 <td><span class="hide" id="mo">も</span><br /><span class="small"><a href="javascript:void(0)" onclick="flip('mo');">flip</a></span></td>

 <td><span class="hide" id="ho">ほ</span><br /><span class="small"><a href="javascript:void(0)" onclick="flip('ho');">flip</a></span></td>
 <td><span class="hide" id="no">の</span><br /><span class="small"><a href="javascript:void(0)" onclick="flip('no');">flip</a></span></td>
 <td><span class="hide" id="to">と</span><br /><span class="small"><a href="javascript:void(0)" onclick="flip('to');">flip</a></span></td>
 <td><span class="hide" id="so">そ</span><br /><span class="small"><a href="javascript:void(0)" onclick="flip('so');">flip</a></span></td>
 <td><span class="hide" id="ko">こ</span><br /><span class="small"><a href="javascript:void(0)" onclick="flip('ko');">flip</a></span></td>

 <td><span class="hide" id="o">お</span><br /><span class="small"><a href="javascript:void(0)" onclick="flip('o');">flip</a></span></td>
 <th>o</th>
</tr>

</table>
</div>

</center>

<div class="sumbox" align="center"><a href="javascript:void(0)" onclick="showAll('exercise1');">Show all answers</a>
 | <a href="javascript:void(0)" onclick="hideAll('exercise1');">Hide all answers</a></div>



<h2 id="part2.hiragana_ex.html">Hiragana Writing Practice</h2>
In this section, we will practice writing some words in hiragana. This is the only part of this
guide where we will be using the English alphabet to represent Japanese sounds. I've added bars between each letter to prevent the ambiguities
that is caused by romaji such as "un | yo" vs "u | nyo". Don't get too caught up in the romaji spellings. Remember, the whole point is to test your aural memory with
hiragana. I hope to replace this with sound in the future to remove the use of romaji altogether.

<h3>Hiragana Writing Exercise 1</h3>
<b>Sample:</b> ta | be | mo | no ＝ <u>たべもの</u>
<div id="exercise2">
<br />
<table class="large" border="0" cellspacing="8">
<tr>
	<td>1. ku | ru | ma</td>
	<td>＝</td>
	<td class=" answerline"><span class="hide">くるま</span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
	<td>2. a | shi | ta</td>
	<td>＝</td>
	<td class=" answerline"><span class="hide">あした</span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
	<td>3. ko | ku | se | ki</td>
	<td>＝</td>
	<td class=" answerline"><span class="hide">こくせき</span></td>
</tr>

<tr>
	<td>4. o | su | shi</td>
	<td>＝</td>
	<td class=" answerline"><span class="hide">おすし</span></td>
</tr>

<tr>
	<td>5. ta | be | ru</td>
	<td>＝</td>
	<td class=" answerline"><span class="hide">たべる</span></td>
</tr>

<tr>
	<td>6. wa | ka | ra | na | i</td>
	<td>＝</td>
	<td class=" answerline"><span class="hide">わからない</span></td>
</tr>

<tr>
	<td>7. sa | zu | ke | ru</td>
	<td>＝</td>
	<td class=" answerline"><span class="hide">さずける</span></td>
</tr>

<tr>
	<td>8. ri | ku | tsu</td>
	<td>＝</td>
	<td class=" answerline"><span class="hide">りくつ</span></td>
</tr>

<tr>
	<td>9. ta | chi | yo | mi</td>
	<td>＝</td>
	<td class=" answerline"><span class="hide">たちよみ</span></td>
</tr>

<tr>
	<td>10. mo | no | ma | ne</td>
	<td>＝</td>
	<td class=" answerline"><span class="hide">ものまね</span></td>
</tr>

<tr>
	<td>11. hi | ga | e | ri</td>
	<td>＝</td>
	<td class=" answerline"><span class="hide">ひがえり</span></td>
</tr>

<tr>
	<td>12. pon | zu</td>
	<td>＝</td>
	<td class=" answerline"><span class="hide">ぽんず</span></td>
</tr>

<tr>
	<td>13. hi | ru | me | shi</td>
	<td>＝</td>
	<td class=" answerline"><span class="hide">ひるめし</span></td>
</tr>

<tr>
	<td>14. re | ki | shi</td>
	<td>＝</td>
	<td class=" answerline"><span class="hide">れきし</span></td>
</tr>

<tr>
	<td>15. fu | yu | ka | i</td>
	<td>＝</td>
	<td class=" answerline"><span class="hide">ふゆかい</span></td>
</tr>
</table>

<div class="sumbox" align="center"><a href="javascript:void(0)" onclick="showAll('exercise2');">Show all answers</a>
 | <a href="javascript:void(0)" onclick="hideAll('exercise2');">Hide all answers</a></div>

</div>

<h2 id="part3.hiragana_ex.html">More Hiragana Writing Practice</h2>
Now we're going to move on to practice writing hiragana with the small 「や」、「ゆ」、「よ」 、and the long vowel sound.　For the purpose of this exercise, I will
denote the long vowel sound as "－" and leave you to figure out with hiragana to use based on the letter preceding it.

<h3>Hiragana Writing Exercise 2</h3>
<b>Sample:</b> jyu | gyo－ ＝ <u>じゅぎょう</u>
<div id="exercise3">
<br />
<table class="large" border="0" cellspacing="8">
<tr>
	<td>1. nu | ru | i | o | cha</td>
	<td>＝</td>
	<td class=" answerline"><span class="hide">ぬるいおちゃ</span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
	<td>2. kyu－ | kyo | ku</td>
	<td>＝</td>
	<td class=" answerline"><span class="hide">きゅうきょく</span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
	<td>3. un | yo－| jo－ | ho－</td>
	<td>＝</td>
	<td class=" answerline"><span class="hide">うんようじょうほう</span></td>
</tr>

<tr>
	<td>4. byo－ | do－</td>
	<td>＝</td>
	<td class=" answerline"><span class="hide">びょうどう</span></td>
</tr>

<tr>
	<td>5. jyo－ | to－ | shu | dan</td>
	<td>＝</td>
	<td class=" answerline"><span class="hide">じょうとうしゅだん</span></td>
</tr>

<tr>
	<td>6. gyu－ | nyu－</td>
	<td>＝</td>
	<td class=" answerline"><span class="hide">ぎゅうにゅう</span></td>
</tr>

<tr>
	<td>7. sho－ | rya | ku</td>
	<td>＝</td>
	<td class=" answerline"><span class="hide">しょうりゃく</span></td>
</tr>

<tr>
	<td>8. hya | ku | nen | ha | ya | i</td>
	<td>＝</td>
	<td class=" answerline"><span class="hide">ひゃくねんはやい</span></td>
</tr>

<tr>
	<td>9. so | tsu | gyo－ | shi | ki</td>
	<td>＝</td>
	<td class=" answerline"><span class="hide">そつぎょうしき</span></td>
</tr>

<tr>
	<td>10. to－ | nyo－ | byo－</td>
	<td>＝</td>
	<td class=" answerline"><span class="hide">とうにょうびょう</span></td>
</tr>

<tr>
	<td>11. mu | ryo－</td>
	<td>＝</td>
	<td class=" answerline"><span class="hide">むりょう</span></td>
</tr>

<tr>
	<td>12. myo－ | ji</td>
	<td>＝</td>
	<td class=" answerline"><span class="hide">みょうじ</span></td>
</tr>

<tr>
	<td>13. o | ka－ | san</td>
	<td>＝</td>
	<td class=" answerline"><span class="hide">おかあさん</span></td>
</tr>

<tr>
	<td>14. ro－ | nin</td>
	<td>＝</td>
	<td class=" answerline"><span class="hide">ろうにん</span></td>
</tr>

<tr>
	<td>15. ryu－ | ga | ku | se | i</td>
	<td>＝</td>
	<td class=" answerline"><span class="hide">りゅうがくせい</span></td>
</tr>
</table>

<div class="sumbox" align="center"><a href="javascript:void(0)" onclick="showAll('exercise3');">Show all answers</a>
 | <a href="javascript:void(0)" onclick="hideAll('exercise3');">Hide all answers</a></div>

</div>

<p />

<h2 id="part4.hiragana_ex.html">Hiragana Reading Practice</h2>
Now let's practice reading some hiragana. I want to particularly focus on correctly reading the small 「つ」 (by correctly carrying over the previous consonant).
Remember to not get too caught up in the unavoidable inconsistencies of romaji. The point is to check whether you can figure out how it's supposed to sound
in your mind.

<h3>Hiragana Reading Exercise</h3>
<b>Sample:</b> とった ＝ <u>totta</u>

<div id="exercise4">
<br />
<table class="large" border="0" cellspacing="8">
<tr>
	<td>1. きゃっかんてき</td>
	<td>＝</td>
	<td class=" answerline"><span class="hide">kyakkanteki</span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
	<td>2. はっぴょうけっか</td>
	<td>＝</td>
	<td class=" answerline"><span class="hide">happyoukekka</span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
	<td>3. ちょっかん</td>
	<td>＝</td>
	<td class=" answerline"><span class="hide">chokkan</span></td>
</tr>

<tr>
	<td>4. ひっし</td>
	<td>＝</td>
	<td class=" answerline"><span class="hide">hisshi</span></td>
</tr>

<tr>
	<td>5. ぜったい</td>
	<td>＝</td>
	<td class=" answerline"><span class="hide">zettai</span></td>
</tr>

<tr>
	<td>6. けっちゃく</td>
	<td>＝</td>
	<td class=" answerline"><span class="hide">kecchaku</span></td>
</tr>

<tr>
	<td>7. しっぱい</td>
	<td>＝</td>
	<td class=" answerline"><span class="hide">shippai</span></td>
</tr>

<tr>
	<td>8. ちゅうとはんぱ</td>
	<td>＝</td>
	<td class=" answerline"><span class="hide">chuutohanpa</span></td>
</tr>

<tr>
	<td>9. やっかい</td>
	<td>＝</td>
	<td class=" answerline"><span class="hide">yakkai</span></td>
</tr>

<tr>
	<td>10. しょっちゅう</td>
	<td>＝</td>
	<td class=" answerline"><span class="hide">shocchuu</span></td>
</tr>
</table>

<div class="sumbox" align="center"><a href="javascript:void(0)" onclick="showAll('exercise4');">Show all answers</a>
 | <a href="javascript:void(0)" onclick="hideAll('exercise4');">Hide all answers</a></div>

</div>


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<p>
<a href="http://www.guidetojapanese.org/forum/viewforum.php?id=18">Report a correction or suggestion for this page</a>
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<div class="small" style="text-align:right;"><pre>This page has last been revised on 2006/11/20</pre></div>

<br class="break"/>
<h1>アイ・ラブ・カタカナ！</h1>


<br /><br /><br />

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
<tr><td>
<div class="outline">
<!-- outline menu -->
<center><span class="summary">Outline</span></center>
<ol>
<li><a href="#part1.katakana.html">What is Katakana?</a></li>
<li><a href="#part2.katakana.html">The Long Vowel Sound</a></li>
<li><a href="#part3.katakana.html">The Small 「ア、イ、ウ、エ、オ」</a></li>
<li><a href="#part4.katakana.html">Some examples of words in katakana</a></li>
</ol>
</div>
</td></tr>
</table>

<h2 id="part1.katakana.html">What is Katakana?</h2>
As mentioned before, <i>katakana</i> is mainly used for words imported from foreign languages.  It can also be used to emphasize certain words similar to the function of <i>italics</i>.  For a more complete list of usages, refer to the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katakana#Usage">Wikipedia entry on katakana</a>.

<p>
Katakana represents the same set of phonetic sounds as hiragana except, of course, all the characters are different.  Since foreign words must fit into this set of [consonants+vowel] combinations, they undergo many radical changes resulting in the case where English speakers can't understand words that are supposed to have been derived from English! As a result, the use of katakana is extremely difficult for English speakers because they expect English words to sound like... well... English.  Instead, it is better to completely forget the original English word, and treat the word as an entirely separate Japanese word, otherwise you can run into the habit of saying English words with English pronunciations (whereupon a Japanese person may or may not understand what you are saying).
</p>

<center>
<table border="1" cellpadding="8" class="bigger">
<caption>Katakana Table</caption>
<tr align="center"><th>n</th> <th>w</th> <th>r</th> <th>y</th> <th>m</th> <th>h</th>
    <th>n</th> <th>t</th> <th>s</th> <th>k</th> <th>&nbsp;</th><th>&nbsp;</th></tr>

<tr align="center"><td>ン</td> <td>ワ</td> <td>ラ</td> <td>ヤ</td> <td>マ</td> <td>ハ</td>
    <td>ナ</td> <td>タ</td> <td>サ</td> <td>カ</td> <td>ア</td> <th>a</th></tr>

<tr align="center"><td class="empty">&nbsp;</td> <td>ヰ*</td> <td>リ</td> <td class="empty">&nbsp;</td> <td>ミ</td> <td>ヒ</td> <td>ニ</td>
    <td>チ</td> <td>シ</td> <td>キ</td> <td>イ</td> <th>i</th></tr>

<tr align="center"><td class="empty">&nbsp;</td> <td class="empty">&nbsp;</td> <td>ル</td> <td>ユ</td> <td>ム</td> <td>フ</td> <td>ヌ</td>
    <td>ツ</td> <td>ス</td> <td>ク</td> <td>ウ</td> <th>u</th></tr>

<tr align="center"><td class="empty">&nbsp;</td> <td>ヱ*</td> <td>レ</td> <td class="empty">&nbsp;</td> <td>メ</td> <td>ヘ</td>
    <td>ネ</td> <td>テ</td> <td>セ</td> <td>ケ</td> <td>エ</td> <th>e</th></tr>

<tr align="center"><td class="empty">&nbsp;</td> <td>ヲ*</td> <td>ロ</td> <td>ヨ</td> <td>モ</td> <td>ホ</td> <td>ノ</td>
    <td>ト</td> <td>ソ</td> <td>コ</td> <td>オ</td> <th>o</th></tr>
</table>
* = obsolete or rarely used
</center>

<p>Katakana is significantly tougher to master compared to hiragana because it is only used for certain words and you don't get
nearly as much practice as you do with hiragana.  To learn the proper stroke order (and yes, you need to), here is the same
web site as before except it is for <a href="http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Shrine/7047/kboth.htm">katakana</a>.
</p>

<p>Also, since Japanese doesn't have any spaces, sometimes the symbol 「・」 is used to show the spaces like 「ロック・アンド・ロール」 for "rock and roll".
Using the symbol is completely optional so sometimes nothing will be used at all.</p>

<div class="sumbox">
<span class="summary">Notes</span>
<ol>
<li>All the sounds are identical to what they were for hiragana.</li>
<li>As you will find out later, since 「を」 is only ever used as a particle and all particles are in hiragana, you will almost never need to use 「ヲ」 and therefore it can
be safely ignored. (Unless you are reading very old telegrams or something.)</li>
<li>The four characters 「シ」、「ン」、「ツ」、and 「ソ」 are fiendishly similar to each other.  Basically, the difference is that the first two are more
"horizontal" than the second two. The little lines are slanted more horizontally and the long line is drawn in a curve from
bottom to top. The second two have almost vertical little lines and the long line doesn't curve as much as it is drawn
from top to bottom.  It is almost like a slash while the former is more like an arc. These characters are hard to sort out and require some patience and practice.</li>
<li>The characters 「ノ」、「メ」、and 「ヌ」 are also something to pay careful attention to, as well as, 「フ」、「ワ」、 and 「ウ」.
Yes, they all look very similar. No, I can't do anything about it.</li>
<li><u>You must learn the correct stroke order and direction!</u> Go to this
<a href="http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Shrine/7047/kboth.htm">web site</a> to learn.</li>
<li>Sometimes 「・」 is used to denote what would be spaces in English.</li>
</ol>
</div>

<h2 id="part2.katakana.html">The Long Vowel Sound</h2>
Everything else works exactly the same way as hiragana, you just need to substitute the equivalent katakana characters.  However, one thing that is different
is that long vowels have been radically simplified in katakana.  Instead of having to muck around thinking about vowel sounds, all long vowel sounds are denoted
by a simple dash like so: ー.

<div class="sumbox">
<span class="summary">Summary</span>
<ol>
<li>All long vowel sounds in katakana are denoted by a dash.  For example, "cute" would be written in katakana like so: 「キュート」.</li>
</ol>
</div>

<h2 id="part3.katakana.html">The Small 「ア、イ、ウ、エ、オ」</h2>
Due to the limitations of the sound set in hiragana, some new combinations have been devised over the years to account for sounds that were not originally
in Japanese.  Most notable is the lack of the / ti / di / and / tu / du / sounds (because of the / chi / tsu / sounds),
and the lack of the / f / consonant sound except for 「ふ」.  The / sh /  j / ch / consonants are also missing for the / e / vowel sound. The decision to resolve these
deficiencies was to add small versions of the five vowel sounds.  This has also been done for the / w / consonant sound to replace the obsolete characters.
In addition, the convention of using the little double slashes on the 「ウ」 vowel （ヴ） with the small 「ア、イ、エ、オ」 to designate the / v / consonant has also been established but it's not often used probably
due to the fact that Japanese people still have difficulty pronouncing / v /.  For instance, while you may guess that "volume" would be pronounced with a / v / sound,
the Japanese have opted for the easier to pronounce "bolume" （ボリューム）.  In the same way, vodka is written as "wokka" （ウォッカ） and not 「ヴォッカ」. You can
write "violin" as either 「バイオリン」 or 「ヴァイオリン」. It really doesn't matter however because almost all Japanese people will pronounce it with a / b / sound anyway.
The following table shows the added sounds that were lacking with a highlight.  Other sounds that already existed are reused as appropriate.

<p />
<table align="center" border="1" cellpadding="8" class="bigger">
<caption>Additional sounds</caption>
<tr align="center"> <th>v</th> <th>w</th> <th>f</th> <th>ch</th> <th>d</th> <th>t</th> <th>j</th> <th>sh</th> <th>&nbsp;</th> </tr>

<tr align="center"> <td><em>ヴァ</em></td> <td>ワ</td> <td><em>ファ</em></td> <td>チャ</td>
<td>ダ</td><td>タ</td> <td>ジャ</td> <td>シャ</td> <th>a</th> </tr>

<tr align="center"> <td><em>ヴィ</em></td> <td><em>ウィ</em></td> <td><em>フィ</em></td>
<td>チ</td> <td><em>ディ</em></td> <td><em>ティ</em></td> <td>ジ</td> <td>シ</td> <th>i</th> </tr>

<tr align="center"> <td><em>ヴ</em></td> <td>ウ</td> <td>フ</td> <td>チュ</td>
<td><em>ドゥ</em></td><td><em>トゥ</em></td> <td>ジュ</td> <td>シュ</td> <th>u</th> </tr>

<tr align="center"> <td><em>ヴェ</em></td> <td><em>ウェ</em></td> <td><em>フェ</em></td><td>	<em>チェ</em></td>
<td>デ</td> <td>テ</td> <td><em>ジェ</em></td> <td><em>シェ</em></td> <th>e</th> </tr>

<tr align="center"> <td><em>ヴォ</em></td> <td><em>ウォ</em></td> <td><em>フォ</em></td> <td>チョ</td>
<td>ド</td> <td>ト</td> <td>ジョ</td> <td>ショ</td> <th>o</th> </tr>
</table>

<div class="sumbox">
<span class="summary">Notes</span>
<ol>
<li>Notice that there is no / wu / sound.  For example, the katakana for "woman" is written as "u-man" （ウーマン）.</li>
<li>While the / tu / sound (as in "too") can technically be produced given the rules as 「トゥ」, foreign words that have become popular before these sounds were
available simply used / tsu / to make do.  For instance, "tool" is still 「ツール」 and "tour" is similarly still 「ツアー」.</li>
<li>Back in the old days, without these new sounds, there was no choice but to just take characters off the regular table without regard for actual pronunciation.
On old buildings, you may still see 「ビル<em>ヂ</em>ング」 instead of the modern spelling 「ビル<em>ディ</em>ング」.  Incidentally,
this is the case for the old Shin-Maru building across from Tokyo Station where I work. It is, however, soon slated for a complete rebuild and we will be moving out
shortly.  Ironically, Shin-Maru （新丸）
 has the character for "new" in it (the original one was rebuilt and is now newer).
 </li>
</ol>
</div>

<h2 id="part4.katakana.html">Some examples of words in katakana</h2>
Translating English words into Japanese is a knack that requires quite a bit of practice and luck.
To give you a sense of how English words become 'Japanified', here are a few examples of words in katakana.  Sometimes the
words in katakana may not even be correct English or have a different meaning from the English word it's supposed to represent.  Of course, not
all katakana words are derived from English.

<p />
<center>
<table border="1" cellpadding="8">
<caption>Sample Katakana Words</caption>
<tr><th><b>English</b></th><th><b>Japanese</b></th></tr>
<tr><td>America</td><td>アメリカ</td></tr>
<tr><td>Russia</td><td>ロシア</td></tr>
<tr><td>cheating</td><td>カンニング (cunning)</td></tr>
<tr><td>tour</td><td>ツアー</td></tr>
<tr><td>company employee</td><td>サラリーマン (salary man)</td></tr>
<tr><td>Mozart</td><td>モーツァルト</td></tr>
<tr><td>car horn</td><td>クラクション (klaxon)</td></tr>
<tr><td>sofa</td><td>ソファ or ソファー</td></tr>
<tr><td>Halloween</td><td>ハロウィーン</td></tr>
<tr><td>French fries</td><td>フライドポテト (fried potato)</td></tr>
</table>
</center>

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<p class="copyright">Copyright &copy; 2003-2007 Tae Kim (taekim.japanese AT gmail.com)</p>
<p>
<a href="http://www.guidetojapanese.org/forum/viewforum.php?id=18">Report a correction or suggestion for this page</a>
</p>
</div>

<div class="small" style="text-align:right;"><pre>This page has last been revised on 2006/9/17
Added link to additional usages (2006/5/11)
</pre></div>

<br class="break"/>
<h1>カタカナ Practice Exercises</h1>

<br /><br /><br />

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
<tr><td>
<div class="outline">
<!-- outline menu -->
<center><span class="summary">Outline</span></center>
<ol>
<li><a href="#part1.katakana_ex.html">Fill in the Katakana Chart</a></li>
<li><a href="#part2.katakana_ex.html">Katakana Writing Practice</a></li>
<li><a href="#part3.katakana_ex.html">More Katakana Writing Practice</a></li>
<li><a href="#part4.katakana_ex.html">Changing English words to katakana</a></li>

</ol>
</div>
</td></tr>
<tr><td>
<div class="outline2">
<!-- outline menu -->
<center><span class="summary">PDF Printout</span></center>
<ol>
<li><a href="katakana_trace_sheet.pdf">Katakana Outlined Practice</a></li>
<li><a href="katakana_prac_sheet.pdf">Katakana Free Form Practice</a></li>
</ol>
</div>
</td></tr>
</table>

<noscript>
<div class="note">
<p><em>Warning!</em>
<br />You do not have javascript enabled. <br />
Sorry, but you need to have javascript turned on to see the answers to these exercises.</p>
</div>
</noscript>

<h2 id="part1.katakana_ex.html">Fill in the Katakana Chart</h2>
Here is the katakana chart you can use to help test your memory. The 「ヲ」 has been removed since you'll never need it.

<p />
<center>

<p>Click on the <u>flip</u> link to show or hide each character.</p>

<div id="exercise1">
<span class="bigger">Katakana Table</span>
<table border="1" cellpadding="8" class="bigger">
<tr align="center"><th>n</th> <th>w</th> <th>r</th> <th>y</th> <th>m</th> <th>h</th>
    <th>n</th> <th>t</th> <th>s</th> <th>k</th> <th>&nbsp;</th><th>&nbsp;</th></tr>

<tr align="center">
 <td><span class="hide" id="n">ン</span><br /><span class="small"><a href="javascript:void(0)" onclick="flip('n');">flip</a></span></td>
 <td><span class="hide" id="wa">ワ</span><br /><span class="small"><a href="javascript:void(0)" onclick="flip('wa');">flip</a></span></td>
 <td><span class="hide" id="ra">ラ</span><br /><span class="small"><a href="javascript:void(0)" onclick="flip('ra');">flip</a></span></td>
 <td><span class="hide" id="ya">ヤ</span><br /><span class="small"><a href="javascript:void(0)" onclick="flip('ya');">flip</a></span></td>

 <td><span class="hide" id="ma">マ</span><br /><span class="small"><a href="javascript:void(0)" onclick="flip('ma');">flip</a></span></td>
 <td><span class="hide" id="ha">ハ</span><br /><span class="small"><a href="javascript:void(0)" onclick="flip('ha');">flip</a></span></td>
 <td><span class="hide" id="na">ナ</span><br /><span class="small"><a href="javascript:void(0)" onclick="flip('na');">flip</a></span></td>
 <td><span class="hide" id="ta">タ</span><br /><span class="small"><a href="javascript:void(0)" onclick="flip('ta');">flip</a></span></td>
 <td><span class="hide" id="sa">サ</span><br /><span class="small"><a href="javascript:void(0)" onclick="flip('sa');">flip</a></span></td>

 <td><span class="hide" id="ka">カ</span><br /><span class="small"><a href="javascript:void(0)" onclick="flip('ka');">flip</a></span></td>
 <td><span class="hide" id="a">ア</span><br /><span class="small"><a href="javascript:void(0)" onclick="flip('a');">flip</a></span></td>
 <th>a</th>
</tr>

<tr align="center">
 <td class="empty">&nbsp;</td>
 <td class="empty">&nbsp;</td>

 <td><span class="hide" id="ri">リ</span><br /><span class="small"><a href="javascript:void(0)" onclick="flip('ri');">flip</a></span></td>
 <td class="empty">&nbsp;</td>
 <td><span class="hide" id="mi">ミ</span><br /><span class="small"><a href="javascript:void(0)" onclick="flip('mi');">flip</a></span></td>
 <td><span class="hide" id="hi">ヒ</span><br /><span class="small"><a href="javascript:void(0)" onclick="flip('hi');">flip</a></span></td>
 <td><span class="hide" id="ni">ニ</span><br /><span class="small"><a href="javascript:void(0)" onclick="flip('ni');">flip</a></span></td>

 <td><span class="hide" id="ti">チ</span><br /><span class="small"><a href="javascript:void(0)" onclick="flip('ti');">flip</a></span></td>
 <td><span class="hide" id="si">シ</span><br /><span class="small"><a href="javascript:void(0)" onclick="flip('si');">flip</a></span></td>
 <td><span class="hide" id="ki">キ</span><br /><span class="small"><a href="javascript:void(0)" onclick="flip('ki');">flip</a></span></td>
 <td><span class="hide" id="i">イ</span><br /><span class="small"><a href="javascript:void(0)" onclick="flip('i');">flip</a></span></td>
 <th>i</th>

</tr>

<tr align="center">
 <td class="empty">&nbsp;</td>
 <td class="empty">&nbsp;</td>
 <td><span class="hide" id="ru">ル</span><br /><span class="small"><a href="javascript:void(0)" onclick="flip('ru');">flip</a></span></td>
 <td><span class="hide" id="yu">ユ</span><br /><span class="small"><a href="javascript:void(0)" onclick="flip('yu');">flip</a></span></td>
 <td><span class="hide" id="mu">ム</span><br /><span class="small"><a href="javascript:void(0)" onclick="flip('mu');">flip</a></span></td>

 <td><span class="hide" id="fu">フ</span><br /><span class="small"><a href="javascript:void(0)" onclick="flip('fu');">flip</a></span></td>
 <td><span class="hide" id="nu">ヌ</span><br /><span class="small"><a href="javascript:void(0)" onclick="flip('nu');">flip</a></span></td>
 <td><span class="hide" id="tu">ツ</span><br /><span class="small"><a href="javascript:void(0)" onclick="flip('tu');">flip</a></span></td>
 <td><span class="hide" id="su">ス</span><br /><span class="small"><a href="javascript:void(0)" onclick="flip('su');">flip</a></span></td>
 <td><span class="hide" id="ku">ク</span><br /><span class="small"><a href="javascript:void(0)" onclick="flip('ku');">flip</a></span></td>

 <td><span class="hide" id="u">ウ</span><br /><span class="small"><a href="javascript:void(0)" onclick="flip('u');">flip</a></span></td>
 <th>u</th>
</tr>

<tr align="center">
 <td class="empty">&nbsp;</td>
 <td class="empty">&nbsp;</td>
 <td><span class="hide" id="re">レ</span><br /><span class="small"><a href="javascript:void(0)" onclick="flip('re');">flip</a></span></td>

 <td class="empty">&nbsp;</td>
 <td><span class="hide" id="me">メ</span><br /><span class="small"><a href="javascript:void(0)" onclick="flip('me');">flip</a></span></td>
 <td><span class="hide" id="he">ヘ</span><br /><span class="small"><a href="javascript:void(0)" onclick="flip('he');">flip</a></span></td>
 <td><span class="hide" id="ne">ネ</span><br /><span class="small"><a href="javascript:void(0)" onclick="flip('ne');">flip</a></span></td>
 <td><span class="hide" id="te">テ</span><br /><span class="small"><a href="javascript:void(0)" onclick="flip('te');">flip</a></span></td>

 <td><span class="hide" id="se">セ</span><br /><span class="small"><a href="javascript:void(0)" onclick="flip('se');">flip</a></span></td>
 <td><span class="hide" id="ke">ケ</span><br /><span class="small"><a href="javascript:void(0)" onclick="flip('ke');">flip</a></span></td>
 <td><span class="hide" id="e">エ</span><br /><span class="small"><a href="javascript:void(0)" onclick="flip('e');">flip</a></span></td>
 <th>e</th>
</tr>

<tr align="center">
 <td class="empty">&nbsp;</td>
 <td class="empty">&nbsp;</td>
 <td><span class="hide" id="ro">ロ</span><br /><span class="small"><a href="javascript:void(0)" onclick="flip('ro');">flip</a></span></td>
 <td><span class="hide" id="yo">ヨ</span><br /><span class="small"><a href="javascript:void(0)" onclick="flip('yo');">flip</a></span></td>
 <td><span class="hide" id="mo">モ</span><br /><span class="small"><a href="javascript:void(0)" onclick="flip('mo');">flip</a></span></td>

 <td><span class="hide" id="ho">ホ</span><br /><span class="small"><a href="javascript:void(0)" onclick="flip('ho');">flip</a></span></td>
 <td><span class="hide" id="no">ノ</span><br /><span class="small"><a href="javascript:void(0)" onclick="flip('no');">flip</a></span></td>
 <td><span class="hide" id="to">ト</span><br /><span class="small"><a href="javascript:void(0)" onclick="flip('to');">flip</a></span></td>
 <td><span class="hide" id="so">ソ</span><br /><span class="small"><a href="javascript:void(0)" onclick="flip('so');">flip</a></span></td>
 <td><span class="hide" id="ko">コ</span><br /><span class="small"><a href="javascript:void(0)" onclick="flip('ko');">flip</a></span></td>

 <td><span class="hide" id="o">オ</span><br /><span class="small"><a href="javascript:void(0)" onclick="flip('o');">flip</a></span></td>
 <th>o</th>

</table>
</div>

</center>

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<h2 id="part2.katakana_ex.html">Katakana Writing Practice</h2>
Here, we will practice writing some katakana words in katakana (obviously). Plus, you'll get a little taste of what foreign words sound like in Japanese.

<h3>Katakana Writing Exercise 1</h3>
<b>Sample:</b> ta | be | mo | no ＝ <u>タベモノ</u>
<div id="exercise2">
<br />
<table class="large" border="0" cellspacing="8">
<tr>
	<td>1. pan</td>
	<td>＝</td>
	<td class=" answerline"><span class="hide">パン</span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
	<td>2. kon | pyu－ | ta</td>
	<td>＝</td>
	<td class=" answerline"><span class="hide">コンピュータ</span></td>
</tr>

<tr>
	<td>3. myu－ | ji | ka | ru</td>
	<td>＝</td>
	<td class=" answerline"><span class="hide">ミュージカル</span></td>
</tr>

<tr>
	<td>4. u－ | man</td>
	<td>＝</td>
	<td class=" answerline"><span class="hide">ウーマン</span></td>
</tr>

<tr>
	<td>5 he | a | pi－ | su</td>
	<td>＝</td>
	<td class=" answerline"><span class="hide">ヘアピース</span></td>
</tr>

<tr>
	<td>6. nu－ | do</td>
	<td>＝</td>
	<td class=" answerline"><span class="hide">ヌード</span></td>
</tr>

<tr>
	<td>7. me | nyu－</td>
	<td>＝</td>
	<td class=" answerline"><span class="hide">メニュー</span></td>
</tr>

<tr>
	<td>8. ro－ | te－ | shon</td>
	<td>＝</td>
	<td class=" answerline"><span class="hide">ローテーション</span></td>
</tr>

<tr>
	<td>9. ha | i | kin | gu</td>
	<td>＝</td>
	<td class=" answerline"><span class="hide">ハイキング</span></td>
</tr>

<tr>
	<td>10. kyan | se | ru</td>
	<td>＝</td>
	<td class=" answerline"><span class="hide">キャンセル</span></td>
</tr>

<tr>
	<td>11. ha | ne | mu－n |</td>
	<td>＝</td>
	<td class=" answerline"><span class="hide">ハネムーン</span></td>
</tr>

<tr>
	<td>12. ku | ri | su | ma | su | tsu | ri－</td>
	<td>＝</td>
	<td class=" answerline"><span class="hide">クリスマスツリー</span></td>
</tr>

<tr>
	<td>13. ra | i | to</td>
	<td>＝</td>
	<td class=" answerline"><span class="hide">ライト</span></td>
</tr>

<tr>
	<td>14. na | i | to | ge－ | mu</td>
	<td>＝</td>
	<td class=" answerline"><span class="hide">ナイトゲーム</span></td>
</tr>


</table>

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</div>

<h2 id="part3.katakana_ex.html">More Katakana Writing Practice</h2>
Now let's practice writing some more katakana. This time, we're going to include all the irregular sounds that don't exist in hiragana.

<h3>Katakana Writing Exercise 2</h3>
<b>Sample:</b> bi－ | chi ＝ <u>ビーチ</u>
<div id="exercise3">
<br />
<table class="large" border="0" cellspacing="8">
<tr>
	<td>1. e | i | zu | wi | ru | su</td>
	<td>＝</td>
	<td class=" answerline"><span class="hide">エイズウイルス</span></td>
</tr>

<tr>
	<td>2. no－ | su | sa | i | do</td>
	<td>＝</td>
	<td class=" answerline"><span class="hide">ノースサイド</span></td>
</tr>

<tr>
	<td>3. in | fo | me－ | shon</td>
	<td>＝</td>
	<td class=" answerline"><span class="hide">インフォメーション</span></td>
</tr>

<tr>
	<td>4. pu | ro | je | ku | to</td>
	<td>＝</td>
	<td class=" answerline"><span class="hide">プロジェクト</span></td>
</tr>

<tr>
	<td>5. fa | su | to | fu－ | do</td>
	<td>＝</td>
	<td class=" answerline"><span class="hide">ファストフード</span></td>
</tr>

<tr>
	<td>6. she | ru | su | ku | ri | pu | to</td>
	<td>＝</td>
	<td class=" answerline"><span class="hide">シェルスクリプト</span></td>
</tr>

<tr>
	<td>7. we－ | to | re | su</td>
	<td>＝</td>
	<td class=" answerline"><span class="hide">ウェートレス</span></td>
</tr>

<tr>
	<td>8. ma | i | ho－ | mu</td>
	<td>＝</td>
	<td class=" answerline"><span class="hide">マイホーム</span></td>
</tr>

<tr>
	<td>9. chi－ | mu | wa－ | ku</td>
	<td>＝</td>
	<td class=" answerline"><span class="hide">チームワーク</span></td>
</tr>

<tr>
	<td>10. mi | ni | su | ka－ | to</td>
	<td>＝</td>
	<td class=" answerline"><span class="hide">ミニスカート</span></td>
</tr>

<tr>
	<td>11. re－ | za－ | di | su | ku</td>
	<td>＝</td>
	<td class=" answerline"><span class="hide">レーザーディスク</span></td>
</tr>

<tr>
	<td>12. chen | ji</td>
	<td>＝</td>
	<td class=" answerline"><span class="hide">チェンジ</span></td>
</tr>

<tr>
	<td>13. re | gyu | ra－</td>
	<td>＝</td>
	<td class=" answerline"><span class="hide">レギュラー</span></td>
</tr>

<tr>
	<td>14. we | i | to | ri | fu | tin | gu</td>
	<td>＝</td>
	<td class=" answerline"><span class="hide">ウエイトリフティング</span></td>
</tr>
</table>

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</div>

<p />

<h2 id="part4.katakana_ex.html">Changing English words to katakana</h2>
Just for fun, let's try figuring out the katakana for some English words. I've listed some common patterns below but they are only guidelines and may not apply
for some words.
<p>
As you know, since Japanese sounds always consist of consonant-vowel pairs, any English words that deviate from this pattern will cause problems.
The only combination that doesn't create problems is the consonant-vowel + n (using 「ン」). Here are some trends you may have noticed.
</p>

<p>If you've seen "Lost in Translation", you know that / l / and / r / are indistinguishable.</p>
<p>
（１）　Ready -> <em>レ</em>ディ
<br />
（２）　Lady -> <em>レ</em>ディ
</p>

<p>If you have more than one vowel in a row or a vowel sound that ends in / r /, it usually becomes a long vowel sound.
</p>
<p>
（１）　<em>Tar</em>get -> <em>ター</em>ゲット
<br />
（２）　<em>Shoo</em>t -> <em>シュー</em>ト
</p>

<p>Abrupt cut-off sounds usually denoted by a / t / or / c / employ the small 「ッ」.
</p>
<p>
（１）　Ca<em>t</em>ch -> キャ<em>ッ</em>チ
<br />
（２）　Ca<em>c</em>he -> キャ<em>ッ</em>シュ
</p>

<p>Any word that ends in a consonant sound requires another vowel to complete the consonant-vowel pattern. (Except for "n" and "m" for which we have 「ン」)
For "t" and "d", it's usually "o". For everything else, it's usually "u".
</p>
<p>
（１）　Goo<em>d</em> -> グッ<em>ド</em>
<br />
（２）　To<em>p</em> -> トッ<em>プ</em>
<br />
（３）　Jac<em>k</em> -> ジャッ<em>ク</em>
</p>

<h3>English to Katakana Exercise</h3>
<b>Sample:</b> Europe ＝ <u>ヨーロッパ</u>

<div id="exercise4">
<br />
<table class="large" border="0" cellspacing="8">
<tr>
	<td>1. check</td>
	<td>＝</td>
	<td class=" answerline"><span class="hide">チェック</span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
	<td>2. violin</td>
	<td>＝</td>
	<td class=" answerline"><span class="hide">バイオリン</span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
	<td>3. jet coaster (roller coaster)</td>
	<td>＝</td>
	<td class=" answerline"><span class="hide">ジェットコースター</span></td>
</tr>

<tr>
	<td>4. window shopping</td>
	<td>＝</td>
	<td class=" answerline"><span class="hide">ウィンドーショッピング</span></td>
</tr>

<tr>
	<td>5. salsa</td>
	<td>＝</td>
	<td class=" answerline"><span class="hide">サルサ</span></td>
</tr>

<tr>
	<td>6. hotdog</td>
	<td>＝</td>
	<td class=" answerline"><span class="hide">ホットドッグ</span></td>
</tr>

<tr>
	<td>7. suitcase</td>
	<td>＝</td>
	<td class=" answerline"><span class="hide">スーツケース</span></td>
</tr>

<tr>
	<td>8. kitchen</td>
	<td>＝</td>
	<td class=" answerline"><span class="hide">キッチン</span></td>
</tr>

<tr>
	<td>9. restaurant</td>
	<td>＝</td>
	<td class=" answerline"><span class="hide">レストラン</span></td>
</tr>

<tr>
	<td>10. New York</td>
	<td>＝</td>
	<td class=" answerline"><span class="hide">ニューヨーク</span></td>
</tr>

</table>

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</div>


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<p class="copyright">Copyright &copy; 2003-2007 Tae Kim (taekim.japanese AT gmail.com)</p>
<p>
<a href="http://www.guidetojapanese.org/forum/viewforum.php?id=18">Report a correction or suggestion for this page</a>
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</div>

<div class="small" style="text-align:right;"><pre>This page has last been revised on 2006/11/20</pre></div>

<br class="break"/>
<h1>Now you want me to learn Chinese too??</h1>

<br /><br /><br />

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
<tr><td>
<div class="outline">
<!-- outline menu -->
<center><span class="summary">Outline</span></center>
<ol>
<li><a href="#part1.kanji.html">What is Kanji?</a></li>
<li><a href="#part2.kanji.html">Learning Kanji</a></li>
<li><a href="#part3.kanji.html">Reading Kanji</a></li>
<li><a href="#part4.kanji.html">Why Kanji?</a></li>
</ol>
</div>
</td></tr>
</table>

<h2 id="part1.kanji.html">What is Kanji?</h2>
In Japanese, nouns and stems of adjectives and verbs are almost all written in Chinese characters called kanji.  Adverbs are also fairly frequently
written in kanji as well.  This means that you will need to learn Chinese characters to be able to read essentially almost all the words in the language.
Not all words are written in kanji however.  For example, while the verb 'to do' technically has a kanji associated with it, it is always written in hiragana.
Individual discretion and a sense of how things are normally written is needed to decide whether words should be written in hiragana or kanji.
However, a majority of the words in Japanese will be written in kanji almost always.  (Children's books or any other material where the audience is
not expected to know a lot kanji is an exception to this.)

<p>
This guide begins using kanji from the beginning to help the reader read "real" Japanese as quickly as possible.  Therefore, we will go over some
properties of kanji and discuss some strategies of learning it quickly and efficiently.  Mastering kanji is not easy but it is by no means impossible.
The biggest part of the battle is mastering the skills of <u>learning kanji</u> and <u>time</u>.
In short, memorizing kanji past short-term memory must be done with a great deal of study and, most importantly, for a long time. And by this, I don't mean
studying five hours a day but rather reviewing how to write a kanji once every several months until you are sure you have it down for good.
This is another reason why this guide starts using kanji right away.  There is no reason to dump the huge job of learning kanji at the advanced level.
By studying kanji along with new vocabulary from the beginning, the immense job of learning kanji is divided into small manageable chunks and the
extra time helps settle learned kanji into permanent memory.  In addition, this will help you learn new vocabulary, which will often have combinations
of kanji you already know.  If you start learning kanji later, this benefit will be wasted or reduced.
</p>


<h2 id="part2.kanji.html">Learning Kanji</h2>
All the resources you need to begin learning kanji are on the web for free at
<a href="http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~jwb/wwwjdic.html">Jim Breen's WWWJDIC</a>.  In addition to its huge
dictionaries, it has stroke order diagrams for the 1,945 jouyo kanji (essentially almost all the kanji you will need to know).
Especially for those who are just starting to learn, you will want to repeatedly write out each kanji to memorize the stroke
order.  Another important skill is learning how to balance the character so that certain parts are not too big or small.  So make sure to copy the
characters as close to the original as possible.  Eventually, you will naturally develop a sense of the stroke order for certain types of characters
allowing you to bypass the drilling stage.  All the kanji used in this guide can be easily looked up by copying and pasting to the WWWJDIC.



<h2 id="part3.kanji.html">Reading Kanji</h2>
Almost every character has two different readings called 音読み （おんよみ） and 訓読み（くんよみ）.  音読み is the original Chinese reading while 訓読み is the
Japanese reading.  Kanji that appear in a compound or 熟語 is usually read with 音読み while one kanji by itself is usually read with 訓読み.
For example, 「力」（ちから） is read with the 訓読み  while the same character in a compound word such as 「能力」 is read with the 音読み
（which is 「りょく」 in this case）.
<p>
Certain characters (especially the most common ones) can have more than one 音読み or 訓読み.  For example, in the word 「怪力」, 「力」 is read
here as 「りき」 and not 「りょく」.  Certain compound words also have special
readings that have nothing to do with the readings of the individual characters.  These readings must be individually memorized.  Thankfully, these
readings are few and far in between.
</p>

<p>
訓読み is also used in adjectives and verbs in addition to the stand-alone characters.  These words often have a string of kana (called okurigana)
that come attached to the word.  This is so that the reading of the Chinese character stays the same even when the word is conjugated to different forms.
For example, the past form of the verb 「食べる」 is 「食べた」.  Even though the verb has changed, the reading for 「食」 remain untouched.
(Imagine how difficult things could get if readings for kanji changed with conjugation or even worse, if the kanji itself changed.)
Okurigana also serves to distinguish between intransitive and transitive verbs (more on this later).
</p>

<p>
Another concept that is difficult to grasp at first is that the actual readings of kanji can change slightly in a compound word to make the
word easier to say.  The more common transformations include the / h / sounds changing to either / b / or / p / sounds or 「つ」 becoming 「っ」.  Examples
include: 「一本」、「徹底」、and 「格好」.
</p>

<p>Yet another fun aspect of kanji you'll run into are words that practically mean the same thing and use the same reading but have different
kanji to make just a slight difference in meaning.  For example 「聞く」（きく） means to listen and so does 「聴く」（きく）.
The only difference is that 「聴く」 means to pay more attention to what you're listening to.  For example, listening to
music almost always prefers 「聴く」 over 「聞く」.  「聞く」 can also mean 'to ask', as well as, "to hear" but 「訊く」（きく） can only mean "to ask".
Yet another example is the common practice of writing
「見る」 as 「観る」 when it applies to watching a show such as a movie. Yet another interesting example is 「書く」（かく）
which means "to write" while 描く （かく） means "to draw".  However, when you're depicting an abstract image such as a scene in a book,
the reading of the same word 「描く」 becomes 「えがく」.  There's also the case where the meaning and kanji stays the same but can have multiple readings
such as 「今日」 which can be either 「きょう」、「こんじつ」, or 「こんにち」.
In this case, it doesn't really matter which reading you choose except that some are preferred over others in certain situations.
</p>

<p>
Finally, there is one special character 々 that is really not a character.  It simply indicates that the previous character is repeated.
For example, 「時時」、「様様」、「色色」、「一一」 can and usually are written as 「時々」、「様々」、「色々」、「一々」.
</p>

<p>
In addition to these "features" of kanji, you will see a whole slew of delightful perks and surprises kanji has for you as you advance in Japanese.
You can decide for yourself if that statement is sarcasm or not.  However, don't be scared into thinking that Japanese is incredibly hard.
Most of the words in the language usually only have one kanji associated with it and a majority of kanji do not have more than two types of
readings.
</p>

<h2 id="part4.kanji.html">Why Kanji?</h2>
Some people feel that the system of using separate, discrete symbols instead of a sensible alphabet is out-dated and overly complicated.
In fact, it might have not have been a good idea to adopt Chinese into Japanese since both languages are fundamentally different in structure.
But the purpose of this guide is not to debate over the decisions made thousands of years ago but to explain why <b>you</b> must learn kanji
in order to learn Japanese.  And by this, I mean more than just saying, "That's how it's done so get over it!".
<p>Some people feel that Japanese should have just switched from Chinese to romaji to do away with all the
complicated characters that was bewildering the foreign white devils.  In fact, Korean has adopted their own alphabet to greatly simplify their
written language to great success.  So why didn't it work for Japanese?  And I ask this in the past tense because I believe that the government
did attempt to replace kanji with romaji shortly after the second world war with little success.  I think anyone who has typed at any length in Japanese
can easily see why this did not work.  At any one time, when you convert typed hiragana into kanji, you are presented with almost always at least two
choices (two homophones) and sometimes even up to ten. (Try typing kikan).  The 46 or so character alphabet of set sounds  in Japanese makes it hard to
avoid homophones.  Compare this to the Korean alphabet which has 14 consonants and 10 vowels.  Any of the consonants can be matched to any of the vowels
giving 140 sounds.  In addition, a third and sometimes even fourth consonant can be attached to create a single letter.  This gives over 1960 sounds that can be
created theoretically. (The sounds that are actually used is actually much less than that, though I don't know the exact number.)
</p>

<p>
Since you want to read at a much faster rate than you talk, you need some visual cues to instantly tell you what each word is.  You can use the shape
of words in English to blaze through text because most words have different shapes.  Try this little exercise: Hi, enve thgouh all teh wrods aer seplled
icorrenctly, can you sltil udsternand me?"  Korean does this too because it has enough characters to make words with distinct and different shapes.
However, because the visual cues are not distinct as kanji, spaces needed to be added to remove ambiguities. (This presents it's own set of problems of when and where to set spaces.)
</p>
<p>
With kanji, Japanese doesn't have to worry about spaces and much of the problem with homophones are resolved. Without kanji, even if spaces were to be added, the ambiguities and lack of visual cues would make Japanese text much more difficult to read.
</p>

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</pre></div>

<br class="break"/>
<h1>Grammatical Foundations</h1>

<br /><br /><br />

<h2>Basic Grammatical Structures</h2>
Now that we have learned how to write Japanese, we can begin going over the basic grammatical structure of the language.  This section primarily
covers all the parts of speech: nouns, adjectives, verbs, and adverbs.  It will also describe how to integrate the various parts of speech into a
coherent sentence by using particles.  By the end of this section, you should have a basic understanding of how Japanese works and how thoughts
are expressed in Japanese.

<div class="sumbox">
<div class="outtitle">Lessons covered in this section</div>

<ul>
<li><a href="copula.html">Expressing State of Being</a> - We will learn how to express the English verb "to be" in Japanese.</li>
<li><a href="particles.html">Introduction to Particles</a> - This lesson describes how to create relationships between things by
designating a topic or identifier using 「は」、「も」、and 「が」 particles.</li>
<li><a href="adjectives.html">Adjectives</a> - Covers the main properties of adjectives.  We will learn how to describe nouns by directly
modifying the noun or by using particles.</li>
<li><a href="verbs.html">Verb Basics</a> - Covers the basic properties of verbs.  This lesson will describe how verbs are categorized so that
we can easily generalize conjugation rules.</li>
<li><a href="negverb.html">Negative Verbs</a> - Goes over the conjugation rules for negating verbs.  We will learn how to transform the
sentence, "He will go." into "He will <em>not</em> go."</li>
<li><a href="pastverb.html">Past Tense</a> - Goes over the rules for conjugating verbs to the past tense.  We will learn how to transform the
sentence, "He will go." into "He <em>went</em>."</li>
<li><a href="particles2.html">Particles used with Verbs</a> - This lesson covers particles most often associated with verbs.
We will learn the direct object particle （を）, target particle （に）, motion target particle （へ）, and the context particle （で）.</li>
<li><a href="transtype.html">Transitive and Intransitive Verbs</a> - We will learn about transitive and intransitive verbs and how
our usage of particles changes as a result.</li>
<li><a href="subclause.html">Descriptive Subordinate Clauses</a> - We will learn how to modify nouns with verb and conjugated noun clauses to create more
complicated sentences.</li>
<li><a href="particles3.html">Noun-related Particles</a> - We will learn particles associated with nouns （と、や、とか、の）.  Generic noun substitution will
also be covered allowing us to essentially set just about anything as the topic or identifier.  Its use as an implied explanation is also covered.</li>
<li><a href="adgobi.html">Adverbs and Gobi</a> - A short and simple section to finish off this section.  It describes how to change adjectives
into adverbs.  It also introduces two very common and useful sentence endings.</li>
</ul>
</div>

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<h1>Because I said so!</h1>

<br /><br /><br />

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
<tr><td>
<div class="outline">
<!-- outline menu -->
<center><span class="summary">Outline</span></center>
<ol>
<li><a href="#part1.copula.html">Declaring something is so and so using 「だ」</a></li>
<li><a href="#part2.copula.html">Conjugating for the negative state-of-being</a></li>
<li><a href="#part3.copula.html">Conjugating for the past state-of-being</a></li>
<li><a href="#part4.copula.html">To sum up</a></li>
</ol>
</div>
</td></tr>
</table>


<h2 id="part1.copula.html">Declaring something is so and so using 「だ」</h2>
One of the trickiest part of Japanese is that there is no verb for the state-of-being like the verb "to be" in English. What Japanese has instead, is
a way to declare that something is the way it is by attaching
the hiragana character 「だ」 to a noun or <a href="adjectives.html#part2.copula.html">na-adjective</a> <strong>only</strong>.  You'll see what this means
when we learn about nouns and adjectives.

<div class="sumbox">
<span class="summary">Declaring that something is so using 「だ」</span>
<ul class="plain">
<li>Attach 「だ」 to the noun or <a href="adjectives.html#part2.copula.html">na-adjective</a></li>
<li>（１）　<span title="さかな - fish" class="popup">魚</span>。 - Fish.</li>
<li>（２）　<span title="さかな - fish" class="popup">魚</span><em>だ</em>。 - Is fish.</li>
</ul>
</div>


<center>
<p>Seems easy enough.  Here's the real kicker though.</p>
<table class="note">
<tr><td><strong><b>A state-of-being can be implied without using 「だ」!</b></strong></td></tr>
</table>
</center>

<p>As it stands, （１） is simply the word "fish" and doesn't mean anything beyond that.  However, we'll see in the next section that with the
topic particle, we can infer that something is a fish from the context without declaring anything.
So the question that should be floating around in your head is, "If you can say something is [X] without using 「だ」,
then what's the point of even having it around?" Well, the main difference is that a declarative statement makes the sentence sound
more emphatic and forceful in order to make it more... well declarative.  Therefore, it is more common to hear men use 「だ」 at the end of sentences.
This is also why you cannot use 「だ」 when asking a question because then it sounds like you're making a statement and asking a
question at the same time. (Unless you're declaring a question word such as 「<span title="どこ - where" class="popup">どこ</span>だ」.)
</p>

<p>
The declarative 「だ」 is also needed in various grammatical structures where a state-of-being must be explicitly declared.
There is also the case where you must not attach it.  It's all quite a pain in the butt really but you don't have to worry about it yet.
</p>

<h2 id="part2.copula.html">Conjugating to the negative state-of-being</h2>
In Japanese, negative and past tense are all expressed by conjugation.  We can conjugate a noun or adjective to either its negative or past tense to
say that something is <i>not</i> [X] or that something <i>was</i> [X].  This may be a bit hard to grasp at first but none of these state-of-being conjugations make
anything declarative like 「だ」 does. We'll learn, in a <a href="particles3.html#part5.copula.html">later lesson</a>, how to make these
tenses declarative by attaching 「だ」 to the end of the sentence .

<p>First, for the negative tense, you simply attach 「じゃない」 to the noun or na-adjective.</p>

<div class="sumbox">
<span class="summary">Conjugation rules for the negative state-of-being</span>
<ul>
<li>Attach 「じゃない」 to the noun or  <a href="adjectives.html#part2.copula.html">na-adjective</a>
<br />（例） <span title="ともだち - friend" class="popup">友達</span>　→　<span title="ともだち - friend" class="popup">友達</span><em>じゃない</em> (is not friend)</li>
</ul>
</div>

<h3>Examples</h3>
（１）　<span title="さかな - fish" class="popup">魚</span><em>じゃない</em>。- Is not fish.
<br />（２）　<span title="がくせい - student" class="popup">学生</span><em>じゃない</em>。- Is not student.
<br />（３）　<span title="しずか - quiet" class="popup">静か</span><em>じゃない</em>。- Is not quiet.

<h2 id="part3.copula.html">Conjugating for the past state-of-being</h2>
We will now learn the past tense of the state-of-being.  To say something <i>was</i> something, 「だった」 is attached to the noun or na-adjective.

<p>In order to say the negative past (<i>was not</i>), the negative tense is conjugated to the negative past tense by simply dropping the 「い」 from 「じゃない」 and adding 「かった」.
</p>

<div class="sumbox">
<span class="summary">Conjugation rules for the past state-of-being</span>
<ol>
<li><b>Past state-of-being</b>: Attach 「だった」 to the noun or <a href="adjectives.html#part2.copula.html">na-adjective</a>
<br />（例） <span title="ともだち - friend" class="popup">友達</span>　→　<span title="ともだち - friend" class="popup">友達</span><em>だった</em> (was friend)</li>
<li><b>Negative past state-of-being</b>: Conjugate the noun  or <a href="adjectives.html#part2.copula.html">na-adjective</a> to the negative tense first and then replace 「い」 of
「じゃない」 with 「かった」
<br />（例） <span title="ともだち - friend" class="popup">友達</span>　→　<span title="ともだち - friend" class="popup">友達</span><em>じゃない</em>
→　<span title="ともだち - friend" class="popup">友達</span>じゃな<em>かった</em> (was not friend)
</li>
</ol>
</div>

<p />（１）　<span title="さかな - fish" class="popup">魚</span><em>だった</em>。- Was fish.
<br />（２）　<span title="がくせい - student" class="popup">学生</span>じゃな<em>かった</em>。- Was not student.
<br />（３）　<span title="しずか - quiet" class="popup">静か</span>じゃな<em>かった</em>。- Was not quiet.

<h2 id="part4.copula.html">To sum up</h2>
We've now learned how to use express a state-of-being in all four tenses.  Next we will learn some particles, which will allow us assign roles to words.  Here is a summary chart of the conjugations we learned in this section.

<p />
<center>
<table border="1" cellpadding="5">
<caption>Summary of state-of-being</caption>
<tr align="center"><td></td><th colspan="2">Positive</th><th colspan="2">Negative</th></tr>

<tr align="center"><th>Non-Past</th><td><span title="さかな - fish" class="popup">魚</span>（だ）</td><td>Is fish</td><td><span title="さかな - fish" class="popup">魚</span>じゃない</td><td>Is not fish</td></tr>

<tr align="center"><th>Past</th><td><span title="さかな - fish" class="popup">魚</span>だった</td><td>Was fish</td><td><span title="さかな - fish" class="popup">魚</span>じゃなかった</td><td>Was not fish</td></tr>

</table>
</center>

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<div class="small" style="text-align:right;"><pre>This page has last been revised on 2005/4/7
Removed reference to 「か question marker」 and changed formatting. (2005/4/7)
</pre></div>
<br class="break"/>
<h1>State-of-Being Practice Exercises</h1>

<br /><br /><br />

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
<tr><td>
<div class="outline">
<!-- outline menu -->
<center><span class="summary">Outline</span></center>
<ol>
<li><a href="#part1.copula_ex.html">Vocabulary used in this section</a></li>
<li><a href="#part2.copula_ex.html">Conjugation Exercise 1</a></li>
<li><a href="#part3.copula_ex.html">Conjugation Exercise 2</a></li>
<li><a href="#part4.copula_ex.html">Question Answer Exercise</a></li>

</ol>
</div>
</td></tr>
</table>

<noscript>
<div class="note">
<p><em>Warning!</em>
<br />You do not have javascript enabled. <br />
Sorry, but you need to have javascript turned on to see the answers to these exercises.</p>
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</noscript>

<h2 id="part1.copula_ex.html">Vocabulary used in this section</h2>
In the following exercises, we will practice the state-of-being conjugations we just covered. But first, you might want to learn
or review the following useful nouns that will be used in the exercises.

<div class="sumbox">
<span class="summary">Kanji</span>
<br />To start with, I have listed the kanji you will need for the vocabulary for your convenience. The link will take you to a diagram of the stroke order.
However, it doesn't clearly show the direction (though you can kind of tell by the animation) so you should check with a kanji dictionary if you're not sure.
I recommend practicing the kanji in the context of real words (such as the ones below).
<ol>
<li><a href="http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/cgi-bin/cgiwrap/jwb/wwwhalsod?3368_%BF%CD">人</a> - person</li>
<li><a href="http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/cgi-bin/cgiwrap/jwb/wwwhalsod?3390_%BB%D2">子</a> - child</li>
<li><a href="http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/cgi-bin/cgiwrap/jwb/wwwhalsod?0007_%BE%AE">小</a> - small</li>
<li><a href="http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/cgi-bin/cgiwrap/jwb/wwwhalsod?3451_%C3%E6">中</a> - middle</li>
<li><a href="http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/cgi-bin/cgiwrap/jwb/wwwhalsod?3416_%C2%E7">大</a> - big</li>
<li><a href="http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/cgi-bin/cgiwrap/jwb/wwwhalsod?2952_%CD%A7">友</a> - friend</li>
<li><a href="http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/cgi-bin/cgiwrap/jwb/wwwhalsod?3497_%C0%B8">生</a> - life</li>
<li><a href="http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/cgi-bin/cgiwrap/jwb/wwwhalsod?2394_%C0%E8">先</a> - ahead</li>
<li><a href="http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/cgi-bin/cgiwrap/jwb/wwwhalsod?2555_%B3%D8">学</a> - study</li>
<li><a href="http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/cgi-bin/cgiwrap/jwb/wwwhalsod?0929_%B9%BB">校</a> - school</li>
<li><a href="http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/cgi-bin/cgiwrap/jwb/wwwhalsod?2097_%B9%E2">高</a> - high</li>
<li><a href="http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/cgi-bin/cgiwrap/jwb/wwwhalsod?3552_%BC%D6">車</a> - car</li>
<li><a href="http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/cgi-bin/cgiwrap/jwb/wwwhalsod?0088_%B6%A1">供</a> - accompanying</li>
<li><a href="http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/cgi-bin/cgiwrap/jwb/wwwhalsod?3139_%C3%A3">達</a> - reach</li>
</ol>
</div>


<div class="sumbox">
<span class="summary">Vocabulary</span>
<br />Here is the list of some simple nouns that might be used in the exercises.
<ol>
<li>うん - casual word for "yes" (yeah, uh-huh)</li>
<li>ううん - casual word for "no" (nah, uh-uh)</li>
<li>これ - this</li>
<li>それ - that</li>
<li>あれ - that over there</li>
<li>こう - (things are) this way</li>
<li>そう - (things are) that way</li>
<li>人 【ひと】 - person</li>
<li>大人 【おとな】 - adult</li>
<li>子供 【こども】 - child</li>
<li>友達 【ともだち】 - friend</li>
<li>車 【くるま】 - car</li>
<li>学生 【がくせい】 - student</li>
<li>先生 【せんせい】 - teacher</li>
<li>学校 【がっこう】 - school</li>
<li>小学校 【しょうがっこう】 - elementary school</li>
<li>中学校 【ちゅうがっこう】 - middle school</li>
<li>高校 【こうこう】 - high school</li>
<li>大学 【だいがく】 - college</li>
</ol>
</div>


<h2 id="part2.copula_ex.html">Conjugation Exercise 1</h2>
We are now going to practice the state-of-being conjugations in order.
Take each noun and conjugate it to the following forms: the declarative, negative state-of-being, past state-of-being, and negative past state-of-being.
<p>
<b>Sample:</b> 人 ＝ <u>人だ</u>、<u>人じゃない</u>、<u>人だった</u>、<u>人じゃなかった</u>
</p>
<div id="exercise1">
<br />
<table class="large" border="0" cellspacing="8">

<tr>
	<td colspan="3">1. <b>これ</b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
	<td>declarative</td>
	<td>=</td>
	<td class="answerline"><span class="hide">これだ</span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
	<td>negative</td>
	<td>=</td>
	<td class="answerline"><span class="hide">これじゃない</span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
	<td>past</td>
	<td>=</td>
	<td class="answerline"><span class="hide">これだった</span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
	<td>negative-past</td>
	<td>=</td>
	<td class="answerline"><span class="hide">これじゃなかった</span></td>
</tr>

<tr><td><br /></td></tr>

<tr>
	<td colspan="3">2. <b>大人</b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
	<td>declarative</td>
	<td>=</td>
	<td class="answerline"><span class="hide">大人だ</span></td>
</tr>

<tr>
	<td>negative</td>
	<td>=</td>
	<td class="answerline"><span class="hide">大人じゃない</span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
	<td>past</td>
	<td>=</td>
	<td class="answerline"><span class="hide">大人だった</span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
	<td>negative-past</td>
	<td>=</td>
	<td class="answerline"><span class="hide">大人じゃなかった</span></td>
</tr>

<tr><td><br /></td></tr>

<tr>
	<td colspan="3">3. <b>学校</b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
	<td>declarative</td>
	<td>=</td>
	<td class="answerline"><span class="hide">学校だ</span></td>
</tr>

<tr>
	<td>negative</td>
	<td>=</td>
	<td class="answerline"><span class="hide">学校じゃない</span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
	<td>past</td>
	<td>=</td>
	<td class="answerline"><span class="hide">学校だった</span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
	<td>negative-past</td>
	<td>=</td>
	<td class="answerline"><span class="hide">学校じゃなかった</span></td>
</tr>

<tr><td><br /></td></tr>

<tr>
	<td colspan="3">4. <b>友達</b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
	<td>declarative</td>
	<td>=</td>
	<td class="answerline"><span class="hide">友達だ</span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
	<td>negative</td>
	<td>=</td>
	<td class="answerline"><span class="hide">友達じゃない</span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
	<td>past</td>
	<td>=</td>
	<td class="answerline"><span class="hide">友達だった</span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
	<td>negative-past</td>
	<td>=</td>
	<td class="answerline"><span class="hide">友達じゃなかった</span></td>
</tr>

<tr><td><br /></td></tr>

<tr>
	<td colspan="3">5. <b>学生</b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
	<td>declarative</td>
	<td>=</td>
	<td class="answerline"><span class="hide">学生だ</span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
	<td>negative</td>
	<td>=</td>
	<td class="answerline"><span class="hide">学生じゃない</span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
	<td>past</td>
	<td>=</td>
	<td class="answerline"><span class="hide">学生だった</span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
	<td>negative-past</td>
	<td>=</td>
	<td class="answerline"><span class="hide">学生じゃなかった</span></td>
</tr>


</table>

<div class="sumbox" align="center"><a href="javascript:void(0)" onclick="showAll('exercise1');">Show all answers</a>
 | <a href="javascript:void(0)" onclick="hideAll('exercise1');">Hide all answers</a></div>

</div>


<h2 id="part3.copula_ex.html">Conjugation Exercise 2</h2>
In this second exercise, we are really going to test your conjugation knowledge as well as the vocabulary by translating some simple English sentences.
Please note that while the positive, non-past state-of-being can be implied, for the purpose of this exercise, we will assume it's always declaratory. Don't forget that
this creates a very firm and declaratory tone.

<p>
<b>Sample:</b> Is student. ＝ <u>学生だ。</u>
</p>

<div id="exercise2">
<br />
<table class="large" border="0" cellspacing="8">
<tr>
	<td>1. Is college.</td>
	<td>＝</td>
	<td class="answerline"><span class="hide">大学だ。</span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
	<td>2. Is not high school.</td>
	<td>＝</td>
	<td class="answerline"><span class="hide">高校じゃない。</span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
	<td>3. Was teacher.</td>
	<td>＝</td>
	<td class="answerline"><span class="hide">先生だった。</span></td>
</tr>

<tr>
	<td>4. Is adult.</td>
	<td>＝</td>
	<td class="answerline"><span class="hide">大人だ。</span></td>
</tr>

<tr>
	<td>5. Was not child.</td>
	<td>＝</td>
	<td class="answerline"><span class="hide">子供じゃなかった。</span></td>
</tr>

<tr>
	<td>6. This was the way it was.</td>
	<td>＝</td>
	<td class="answerline"><span class="hide">こうだった。</span></td>
</tr>

<tr>
	<td>7. Wasn't that over there.</td>
	<td>＝</td>
	<td class="answerline"><span class="hide">あれじゃなかった。</span></td>
</tr>

<tr>
	<td>8. Is not middle school.</td>
	<td>＝</td>
	<td class="answerline"><span class="hide">中学校じゃない。</span></td>
</tr>

<tr>
	<td>9. Is friend.</td>
	<td>＝</td>
	<td class="answerline"><span class="hide">友達だ。</span></td>
</tr>

<tr>
	<td>10. Was not car.</td>
	<td>＝</td>
	<td class="answerline"><span class="hide">車じゃなかった。</span></td>
</tr>

<tr>
	<td>11. Was this.</td>
	<td>＝</td>
	<td class="answerline"><span class="hide">これだった。</span></td>
</tr>

<tr>
	<td>12. That's not the way it is.</td>
	<td>＝</td>
	<td class="answerline"><span class="hide">そうじゃない。</span></td>
</tr>
</table>

<div class="sumbox" align="center"><a href="javascript:void(0)" onclick="showAll('exercise2');">Show all answers</a>
 | <a href="javascript:void(0)" onclick="hideAll('exercise2');">Hide all answers</a></div>

</div>

<h2 id="part4.copula_ex.html">Question Answer Exercise</h2>
In this last exercise, we'll practice answering very simple questions using the state-of-being. The yes or no answer （うん or ううん） will be given and it is your
job to complete the sentence. In deciding whether to use the declaratory 「だ」, I've decided to be sexist here and assume all males use the declaratory 「だ」 and all
females use the implicit state-of-being (not the case in the real world).
<br />
<br />

<b>Sample:</b>
<br />Ｑ）　学生？
<br />Ａ）　ううん、<u>学生じゃない</u>。

<div id="exercise4">
<br />
<table class="large" border="0" cellspacing="8">
<tr>
	<td>Ｑ１）　友達？</td>
</tr>
<tr>
	<td>Ａ１）　うん、<span class="answerline"><span class="hide">友達</span></span>。 <span style="font-size:.7em;">(female)</span></td>
</tr>

<tr><td /></tr>

<tr>
	<td>Ｑ２）　学校？</td>
</tr>
<tr>
	<td>Ａ２）　ううん、<span class="answerline"><span class="hide">学校じゃない</span></span>。</td>
</tr>

<tr><td /></tr>


<tr>
	<td>Ｑ３）　それだった？</td>
</tr>
<tr>
	<td>Ａ３）　ううん、<span class="answerline"><span class="hide">それじゃなかった</span></span>。</td>
</tr>

<tr><td /></tr>

<tr>
	<td>Ｑ４）　そう？ <span style="font-size:.7em;">(Is that so?)</span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
	<td>Ａ４）　うん、<span class="answerline"><span class="hide">そうだ</span></span>。 <span style="font-size:.7em;">(male)</span></td>
</tr>

<tr><td /></tr>

<tr>
	<td>Ｑ５）　これ？</td>
</tr>
<tr>
	<td>Ａ５）　ううん、<span class="answerline"><span class="hide">それじゃない</span></span>。<span style="font-size:.7em;">(object is away from the speaker)</span></td>
</tr>

<tr><td /></tr>

<tr>
	<td>Ｑ６）　先生だった？</td>
</tr>
<tr>
	<td>Ａ６）　うん、<span class="answerline"><span class="hide">先生だった</span></span>。</td>
</tr>

<tr><td /></tr>

<tr>
	<td>Ｑ７）　小学校だった？</td>
</tr>
<tr>
	<td>Ａ７）　ううん、<span class="answerline"><span class="hide">小学校じゃなかった</span></span>。</td>
</tr>


<tr><td /></tr>

<tr>
	<td>Ｑ８）　子供？</td>
</tr>
<tr>
	<td>Ａ８）　うん、<span class="answerline"><span class="hide">子供</span></span>。 <span style="font-size:.7em;">(female)</span></td>
</tr>
</table>

<div class="sumbox" align="center"><a href="javascript:void(0)" onclick="showAll('exercise4');">Show all answers</a>
 | <a href="javascript:void(0)" onclick="hideAll('exercise4');">Hide all answers</a></div>

</div>


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<p class="copyright">Copyright &copy; 2003-2007 Tae Kim (taekim.japanese AT gmail.com)</p>
<p>
<a href="http://www.guidetojapanese.org/forum/viewforum.php?id=18">Report a correction or suggestion for this page</a>
</p>
</div>

<div class="small" style="text-align:right;"><pre>This page has last been revised on 2005/8/2
Added tenses for the conjugation exercise (2005/8/2)</pre></div>

<br class="break"/>
<h1>Practical Particular Particles</h1>

<br /><br /><br />

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
<tr><td>
<div class="outline">
<!-- outline menu -->
<center><span class="summary">Outline</span></center>
<ol>
<li><a href="#part1.particles.html">Defining grammatical functions with particles</a></li>
<li><a href="#part2.particles.html">The 「は」 topic particle</a></li>
<li><a href="#part3.particles.html">The 「も」 inclusive topic particle</a></li>
<li><a href="#part4.particles.html">The 「が」 identifier particle</a></li>
</ol>
</div>
</td></tr>
</table>


<h2 id="part1.particles.html">Defining grammatical functions with particles</h2>
We want to now make good use of what we learned in the last lesson by associating a noun with another noun.  This is done with something called particles.
Particles are one or two hiragana characters that attach to the end of a word to define what grammatical function that word is serving in the sentence.
Using the correct particles is very important because the meaning of a sentence can completely change just by changing the particles.  For example, the
sentence "Eat fish." can become "The fish eats." simply by changing one particle.

<h2 id="part2.particles.html">The 「は」 topic particle</h2>
The first particle we will learn is the topic particle.  The topic particle essentially identifies what it is that you're talking about, basically the topic
of your sentence.  Let's say a person says, "Not student."  This is a perfectly valid sentence in Japanese but it doesn't tell us much without
knowing what the sentence is talking about.  The topic particle will allow us to express what our sentences are about.  The topic particle is the
character 「は」.  Now, while this character is normally pronounced /ha/, it is pronounced /wa/ only when it is being used as the topic particle.

<h3>Example 1</h3>
ボブ：　アリス<em>は</em><span title="がくせい - student" class="popup">学生</span>？- Are you (Alice) student?
<br />アリス：　<span title="うん - yeah, uh huh" class="popup">うん</span>、<span title="がくせい - student" class="popup">学生</span>。- Yeah, I am.

<p>
Here, Bob is indicating that his question is about Alice.  Notice how the 「だ」 is left out and yet the English translation has the word 'are'
and 'am'.  Since we know the topic is Alice, we don't need anything else to guess that Alice is a student.  In fact, since Bob is asking a question,
he <i>can't</i> attach 「だ」.  That would be like trying to make a statement and asking a question at the same time.
</p>


<h3>Example 2</h3>
ボブ）　ジム<em>は</em><span title="あした - tomorrow" class="popup">明日</span>？- Jim is tomorrow?
<br />アリス）　<span title="あした - tomorrow" class="popup">明日</span>じゃない。- Not tomorrow.

<p>
Since we have no context, we don't have enough information to make any sense of this conversation.  It obviously makes no
sense for Jim to actually <b>be</b> tomorrow.
Given a context, as long as the sentence has something to do with Jim and tomorrow, it can mean anything. For instance, they could be
talking about when an exam is being held.
</p>

<h3>Example 3</h3>
アリス）　<span title="きょう - today" class="popup">今日</span>は<span title="しけん - exam" class="popup">試験</span>だ。- Today is exam.
<br />ボブ）　ジムは？ - What about Jim?
<br />アリス）　ジムは<span title="あした - tomorrow" class="popup">明日</span>。 - Jim is tomorrow. (As for Jim, the exam is tomorrow.)

<p>
We need to realize how generic the topic can really be.  A topic can be referring to any action or object from anywhere even including other sentences.
For example, in the last sentence of the conversation above, even though the sentence is about when the exam is for Jim, the word "exam" doesn't appear anywhere in the sentence!
</p>

<p>
We'll see a more specific particle that ties more closely into the sentence at the end of this lesson with the identifier particle.
</p>

<h2 id="part3.particles.html">The 「も」 inclusive topic particle</h2>
Another particle that is very similar to the topic particle is the inclusive topic particle.  It is essentially the topic particle with the additional meaning
of "also".  Basically, it can introduce another topic in addition to the current topic.  The inclusive topic particle is the 「も」 character and its use is
best explained by an example.

<h3>Example 1</h3>
ボブ：　アリスは<span title="がくせい - student" class="popup">学生</span>？- Are you (Alice) student?
<br />アリス：　うん、トム<em>も</em><span title="がくせい - student" class="popup">学生</span>。- Yes, and Tom is also student.

<p>
Notice, that Alice must be consistent with the inclusion.  It would not make sense to say, "I am a student,
and Tom is also not a student."  Instead, Alice would use the 「は」 particle to remove the additional meaning of inclusion as seen in the next example.
</p>

<h3>Example 2</h3>
ボブ：　アリスは<span title="がくせい - student" class="popup">学生</span>？- Are you (Alice) student?
<br />アリス：　うん、でもトム<em>は</em><span title="がくせい - student" class="popup">学生</span>じゃない。- Yes, but Tom is not student.


<h3>Example 3</h3>
This is also another possibility.
<br />ボブ：　アリスは<span title="がくせい - student" class="popup">学生</span>？- Are you (Alice) student?
<br />アリス：　ううん、トム<em>も</em><span title="がくせい - student" class="popup">学生</span>じゃない。- No, and Tom is also not student.


<p>So why would Alice, all of a sudden, talk about Tom when Bob is asking about Alice?  Maybe Tom is standing right next to her and she wants to
include Tom in the conversation.</p>

<h2 id="part4.particles.html">The 「が」 identifier particle</h2>
Ok, so we can make a topic using the 「は」 and 「も」 particle. But what if we don’t know what the topic is? What if I wanted to ask, “Who is the student?”
What I need is some kind of identifier because I don’t know who the student is. If I used the topic particle, the question would become, “Is who the student?”
and that doesn’t make any sense because “who” is not an actual person.

<p>
This is where the 「が」 particle comes into play. It is also referred to as the subject particle but I hate that name since it means something completely different in
English grammar. Instead, I move to call it the <i>identifier particle</i> because it indicates that the speaker wants to identify something unspecified.
</p>


<h3>Example 1</h3>
ボブ：　<span title="だれ - who" class="popup">誰</span><em>が</em><span title="がくせい - student" class="popup">学生</span>？- Who is the one that is student?
<br />アリス：　ジム<em>が</em><span title="がくせい - student" class="popup">学生</span>。- Jim is the one who is the student.
<p>
Bob wants to identify who among all the possible candidates is a student.  Alice responds that Jim is the one.  Notice, Alice could also have answered
with the topic particle to indicate that, speaking of Jim, she knows that he is <i>a</i> student (maybe not <i>the</i> student).  You can see the
difference in the next example.
</p>

<h3>Example 2</h3>
（１）　<span title="だれ - who" class="popup">誰</span><em>が</em><span title="がくせい - student" class="popup">学生</span>？ - Who is the one that is student?
<br />（２）　<span title="がくせい - student" class="popup">学生</span>は<span title="だれ - who" class="popup">誰</span>？- (The) student is who?
<p>
Hopefully, you can see that （１） seeks to identify a specific person for 'student' while （２） is simply talking about the student.
You cannot replace 「が」 with 「は」 in （１） because "who" would become the topic and the question would
become, "Is who a student?"
</p>

<p>The two particles 「は」 and 「が」 may seem very similar only because it is impossible to translate the difference directly into English.  For example,
「<span title="わたし - me, myself, I" class="popup">私</span>は<span title="がくせい - student" class="popup">学生</span>」 and
「<span title="わたし - me, myself, I" class="popup">私</span>が<span title="がくせい - student" class="popup">学生</span>」 both translate into, "I am student."*
However, they only seem similar because English cannot express information about the context as succinctly as Japanese sometimes can.  In the first sentence
「<span title="わたし - me, myself, I" class="popup">私</span>は<span title="がくせい - student" class="popup">学生</span>」,
since 「<span title="わたし - me, myself, I" class="popup">私</span>」 is the topic, the sentence means, "Speaking about me, I am a student".  However, in the
second sentence, 「<span title="わたし - me, myself, I" class="popup">私</span>」 is specifying who the 「<span title="がくせい - student" class="popup">学生</span>」 is.  If we want to know who the student is, the 「が」 particle tells us its
「<span title="わたし - me, myself, I" class="popup">私</span>」.
</p>

<p>You can also think about the 「が」 particle as always answering a
silent question.  For example, if we have 「ジムが<span title="さかな - fish" class="popup">魚</span>だ」, we are answering a question such as "Who is the fish?"
or "Which person is the fish?" or maybe even "What food does Jim like?"
Or given the sentence, 「<span title="これ - this" class="popup">これ</span>が<span title="くるま - car" class="popup">車</span>」, we can be answering the question, "Which is the car?" or "What is the car?"
The 「は」 and 「が」 particles are actually quite different if you think of it the right way.  The 「が」 particle
identifies a specific property of something while the 「は」 particle is used only to bring up a new topic of conversation.
This is why, in longer sentences, it is common to separate the topic with commas to remove ambiguity about which part of the sentence the
topic applies to.
</p>

<p><font size="-1">*Well technically, it's the most likely translation given the lack of context.</font></p>

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<div class="small" style="text-align:right;"><pre>This page has last been revised on 2006/9/15
</pre>
</div>

<br class="break"/>
<h1>「は、も、が」 Particle Exercises</h1>

<br /><br /><br /><br />

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
<tr><td>
<div class="outline">
<!-- outline menu -->
<center><span class="summary">Outline</span></center>
<ol>
<li><a href="#part1.particles_ex.html">Vocabulary used in this section</a></li>
<li><a href="#part2.particles_ex.html">Basic Particle Exercise</a></li>
<li><a href="#part3.particles_ex.html">Conjugation Exercise 2</a></li>
<li><a href="#part4.particles_ex.html">Question Answer Exercise</a></li>

</ol>
</div>
</td></tr>
</table>

<noscript>
<div class="note">
<p><em>Warning!</em>
<br />You do not have javascript enabled. <br />
Sorry, but you need to have javascript turned on to see the answers to these exercises.</p>
</div>
</noscript>

<h2 id="part1.particles_ex.html">Vocabulary used in this section</h2>

<div class="sumbox">
<span class="summary">Kanji</span>
<br />To start with, I have listed the kanji you will need for the vocabulary for your convenience. The link will take you to a diagram of the stroke order.
However, it doesn't clearly show the direction (though you can kind of tell by the animation) so you should check with a kanji dictionary if you're not sure.
I recommend practicing the kanji in the context of real words (such as the ones below).
<ol>
<li><a href="http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/cgi-bin/cgiwrap/jwb/wwwhalsod?0065_%B2%BF">何</a> - what</li>
<li><a href="http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/cgi-bin/cgiwrap/jwb/wwwhalsod?0892_%B1%C7">映</a> - projection</li>
<li><a href="http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/cgi-bin/cgiwrap/jwb/wwwhalsod?3000_%B2%E8">画</a> - picture</li>
<li><a href="http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/cgi-bin/cgiwrap/jwb/wwwhalsod?0290_%C8%E0">彼</a> - he</li>
<li><a href="http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/cgi-bin/cgiwrap/jwb/wwwhalsod?3418_%BD%F7">女</a> - female</li>
<li><a href="http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/cgi-bin/cgiwrap/jwb/wwwhalsod?0893_%BA%F2">昨</a> - previous</li>
<li><a href="http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/cgi-bin/cgiwrap/jwb/wwwhalsod?3027_%C6%FC">日</a> - day</li>
<li><a href="http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/cgi-bin/cgiwrap/jwb/wwwhalsod?1968_%BA%A3">今</a> - now</li>
<li><a href="http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/cgi-bin/cgiwrap/jwb/wwwhalsod?0855_%CC%C0">明</a> - bright</li>
<li><a href="http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/cgi-bin/cgiwrap/jwb/wwwhalsod?1127_%C3%CE">知</a> - know</li>
<li><a href="http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/cgi-bin/cgiwrap/jwb/wwwhalsod?2019_%B9%E7">合</a> - match</li>
<li><a href="http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/cgi-bin/cgiwrap/jwb/wwwhalsod?1707_%B1%F4">鉛</a> - lead</li>
<li><a href="http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/cgi-bin/cgiwrap/jwb/wwwhalsod?2677_%C9%AE">筆</a> - brush</li>
<li><a href="http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/cgi-bin/cgiwrap/jwb/wwwhalsod?3370_%C6%FE">入</a> - enter</li>
<li><a href="http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/cgi-bin/cgiwrap/jwb/wwwhalsod?3382_%B8%FD">口</a> - mouth</li>
<li><a href="http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/cgi-bin/cgiwrap/jwb/wwwhalsod?3498_%BD%D0">出</a> - exit</li>
<li><a href="http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/cgi-bin/cgiwrap/jwb/wwwhalsod?3071_%BF%DE">図</a> - plan</li>
<li><a href="http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/cgi-bin/cgiwrap/jwb/wwwhalsod?2658_%BD%F1">書</a> - write</li>
<li><a href="http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/cgi-bin/cgiwrap/jwb/wwwhalsod?1748_%B4%DB">館</a> - building</li>
</ol>
</div>


<div class="sumbox">
<span class="summary">Vocabulary</span>
<br />Here is the list of some simple nouns that might be used in the exercises.
<ol>
<li>どこ - where</li>
<li>いつ - when</li>
<li>どうして - why</li>
<li>どう - how</li>
<li>どれ - which</li>
<li>ミーティング - meeting</li>
<li>ボールペン - ball-point pen</li>
<li>何【なに】 - what</li>
<li>誰【だれ】 - who</li>
<li>映画【えいが】 - movie</li>
<li>彼【かれ】 - he; boyfriend</li>
<li>彼女【かのじょ】 - she; girlfriend</li>
<li>雨【あめ】 - rain</li>
<li>昨日【きのう】 - yesterday</li>
<li>今日【きょう】 - today</li>
<li>明日【あした】 - tomorrow</li>
<li>知り合い【しりあい】 - acquaintance</li>
<li>鉛筆【えんぴつ】 - pencil</li>
<li>仕事【しごと】 - work</li>
<li>入口【いりぐち】 - entrance</li>
<li>出口【でぐち】 - exit</li>
<li>図書館【としょかん】 - library</li>
</ol>
</div>


<h2 id="part2.particles_ex.html">Basic Particle Exercise with 「は」</h2>
Let's first get used to the basic concept of particles by making some very simple sentences with them. In this first exercise,
we are going to use the topic particle to explain the current topic of conversation. Remember, the topic particle 「は」 is
always pronounced as /wa/.
<p>
<b>Sample:</b> 誰？ （Topic: アリス）  ＝ アリスは誰？
</p>

<div id="exercise1">
<table class="large" border="0" cellspacing="8">
<tr>
	<td>１． どこ？（Topic: 学校）</td>
	<td>＝</td>
	<td class="answerline"><span class="hide">学校はどこ？</span></td><td>(Where is school?)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
	<td>２． どうして？（Topic: それ）</td>
	<td>＝</td>
	<td class="answerline"><span class="hide">それはどうして？</span></td><td>(Why is that?)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
	<td>３．いつ？（Topic: ミーティング）</td>
	<td>＝</td>
	<td class="answerline"><span class="hide">ミーティングはいつ？</span></td><td>(When is meeting?)</td>
</tr>

<tr>
	<td>４．何？（Topic: これ）</td>
	<td>＝</td>
	<td class="answerline"><span class="hide">これは何？</span></td><td>(What is this?)</td>
</tr>

<tr>
	<td>５．どう？（Topic: 映画）</td>
	<td>＝</td>
	<td class="answerline"><span class="hide">映画はどう？</span></td><td>(How is movie?)</td>
</tr>

<tr>
	<td>６．中学生だ。（Topic: 彼）</td>
	<td>＝</td>
	<td class="answerline"><span class="hide">彼は中学生だ。</span></td><td>(He is middle school student.)</td>
</tr>

<tr>
	<td>７．先生だ。（Topic: 彼女）</td>
	<td>＝</td>
	<td class="answerline"><span class="hide">彼女は先生だ。</span></td><td>(She is teacher.)</td>
</tr>

<tr>
	<td>８．雨。（Topic: 今日）</td>
	<td>＝</td>
	<td class="answerline"><span class="hide">今日は雨。</span></td><td>(Today is rain.)</td>
</tr>

<tr>
	<td>９．友達。（Topic: ボブ）</td>
	<td>＝</td>
	<td class="answerline"><span class="hide">ボブは友達。</span></td><td>(Bob is friend.)</td>
</tr>

<tr>
	<td>１０． 知り合い？（Topic: 彼）</td>
	<td>＝</td>
	<td class="answerline"><span class="hide">彼は知り合い？</span></td><td>(Is he an acquaintance?)</td>
</tr>
</table>

<div class="sumbox" align="center"><a href="javascript:void(0)" onclick="showAll('exercise1');">Show all answers</a>
 | <a href="javascript:void(0)" onclick="hideAll('exercise1');">Hide all answers</a></div>

</div>


<h2 id="part3.particles_ex.html">Particle Exercise with 「は」 and 「も」</h2>
Now we are going to practice getting used to the differences between the 「は」 and 「も」 particles. The sentences are actually pretty lame but this was the only
way I could think of to make obvious which particle should be used. Remember, the point is to get a sense of when and when not to use the inclusive particle
instead of the topic particle.

<h3>Fill in the blank with the correct particle, either 「は」 or 「も」</h3>
<b>Sample:</b> これは鉛筆だ。それ<u>も</u>鉛筆だ。

<div id="exercise2">

<table class="large" border="0" cellspacing="8">
<tr><td>
１．今日は雨だ。昨日<span class="answerline"><span class="hide">　も　</span></span>雨だった。
</td></tr>

<tr><td>
２．ジムは大学生だ。でも、私<span class="answerline"><span class="hide">　は　</span></span>大学生じゃない。
</td></tr>

<tr><td>
３．これは水。これ<span class="answerline"><span class="hide">　も　</span></span>そう。
</td></tr>

<tr><td>
４．これはボールペンだ。でも、それ<span class="answerline"><span class="hide">　は　</span></span>ボールペンじゃない。
</td></tr>

<tr><td>
５．仕事は明日。今日<span class="answerline"><span class="hide">　は　</span></span>仕事じゃなかった。
</td></tr>

<tr><td>
６．ここは入口。出口<span class="answerline"><span class="hide">　も　</span></span>ここだ。
</td></tr>

</table>

<div class="sumbox" align="center"><a href="javascript:void(0)" onclick="showAll('exercise2');">Show all answers</a>
 | <a href="javascript:void(0)" onclick="hideAll('exercise2');">Hide all answers</a></div>

</div>

<h2 id="part4.particles_ex.html">Particle Exercise with 「は」, 「も」, 「が」</h2>
In this last exercise, we will practice all three particles by identifying which one should be used for different types of situations. Remember  that the
「が」 particle is only used when you want to identify something out of many other possibilities. While there are some cases where both 「は」 and 「が」
makes sense grammatically, because they mean different things, the correct one all depends on what you want to say.

<h3>Fill in the blank with the correct particle, either 「は」、 「も」、 or 「が」</h3>

<div id="exercise4">
<br />
<table class="large" border="0" cellspacing="8">

<tr>
	<td>ジム）　アリス<span class="answerline"><span class="hide">　は　</span></span>誰？</td>
</tr>
<tr>
	<td>ボブ）　友達だ。彼女<span class="answerline"><span class="hide">　が　</span></span>アリスだ</td>
</tr>

<tr><td>　</td></tr>

<tr>
	<td>アリス）　これ<span class="answerline"><span class="hide">　は　</span></span>何？</td>
</tr>
<tr>
	<td>ボブ）　それ<span class="answerline"><span class="hide">　は　</span></span>鉛筆。</td>
</tr>
<tr>
	<td>アリス）　あれ<span class="answerline"><span class="hide">　も　</span></span>鉛筆？</td>
</tr>
<tr>
	<td>ボブ）　あれ<span class="answerline"><span class="hide">　は　</span></span>ペンだ。</td>
</tr>

<tr><td>　</td></tr>
<tr>
	<td>アリス）　図書館<span class="answerline"><span class="hide">　は　</span></span>どこ？</td>
</tr>
<tr>
	<td>ボブ）　ここ<span class="answerline"><span class="hide">　が　</span></span>図書館だ。</td>
</tr>
<tr>
	<td>アリス）　そこ<span class="answerline"><span class="hide">　は　</span></span>図書館じゃない？</td>
</tr>
<tr>
	<td>ボブ）　そこじゃない。図書館<span class="answerline"><span class="hide">　は　</span></span>ここだ。</td>
</tr>

</table>

<div class="sumbox" align="center"><a href="javascript:void(0)" onclick="showAll('exercise4');">Show all answers</a>
 | <a href="javascript:void(0)" onclick="hideAll('exercise4');">Hide all answers</a></div>

</div>


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<p class="copyright">Copyright &copy; 2003-2007 Tae Kim (taekim.japanese AT gmail.com)</p>
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<a href="http://www.guidetojapanese.org/forum/viewforum.php?id=18">Report a correction or suggestion for this page</a>
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<div class="small" style="text-align:right;"><pre>This page has last been revised on 2005/6/12</pre></div>

<br class="break"/>
<h1>Beautiful, is an Adjective</h1>

<br /><br /><br />

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
<tr><td>
<div class="outline">
<!-- outline menu -->
<center><span class="summary">Outline</span></center>
<ol>
<li><a href="#part1.adjectives.html">Properties of Adjectives</a></li>
<li><a href="#part2.adjectives.html">The na-adjective</a></li>
<li><a href="#part3.adjectives.html">The i-adjective</a></li>
<li><a href="#part4.adjectives.html">An annoying exception</a></li>
</ol>
</div>
</td></tr>
</table>

<h2 id="part1.adjectives.html">Properties of Adjectives</h2>
Now that we can connect two nouns together in various ways using particles, we want to describe our nouns with adjectives.  An adjective can
directly modify a noun that immediately follows it.  It can also be connected in the same way we did with nouns using particles.  All adjectives fall
under two categories: na-adjectives and i-adjectives.  We will see how they are different and how to use them in sentences.

<h2 id="part2.adjectives.html">The na-adjective</h2>
The na-adjective is very simple to learn because it acts essentially like a noun.  In fact, they are so similar; you can assume that they behave
the same way unless I specifically point out differences.  One main difference is that a na-adjective can directly modify a noun following it by
sticking 「な」 between the adjective and noun.  (Hence the name, na-adjective.)
<p>（１）　<span title="しずか - quiet" class="popup">静か</span><em>な</em><span title="ひと - person" class="popup">人</span>。- Quiet person.</p>
<p>In addition to this direct noun modification which requires a 「な」, you can also say that a noun <i>is</i> an adjective by using the topic or identifier particle in a
<i>[Noun] [Particle] [Adj]</i> sentence structure (for instance
「<span title="ひと - person" class="popup">人</span>は<span title="しずか - quiet" class="popup">静か</span>」）. This is
essentially the same thing as the state-of-being with nouns that we've already covered in the previous two sections.
However, since it doesn't make sense for an adjective to be a noun, you cannot have a <i>[Adj] [Particle] [Noun]</i> sentence structure
（for instance 「<span title="しずか - quiet" class="popup">静か</span>が<span title="ひと - person" class="popup">人</span>」）.
This is pretty obvious because, for instance, while a person can be quiet, it makes no sense for quiet to be a person.
</p>

<p>（１）　<span title="ともだち - friend" class="popup">友達</span>は<span title="しんせつ - kind, friendly" class="popup">親切</span>。- Friend is kind.
</p>

<p>
（２）　<span title="ともだち - friend" class="popup">友達</span>は<span title="しんせつ - kind, friendly" class="popup">親切</span>な<span title="ひと - person" class="popup">人</span>。- Friend is kind person.
</p>

<p>Remember how na-adjectives act almost exactly the same as nouns?  Well, you can see this by the following examples.
</p>

<p>
（１）　ボブは<span title="さかな - fish" class="popup">魚</span>が<em><span title="すき - like" class="popup">好きだ</span></em>。- Bob likes fish.
</p>

<p>
（２）　ボブは<span title="さかな - fish" class="popup">魚</span>が<em><span title="すき - like" class="popup">好きじゃない</span></em>。- Bob does not like fish.
</p>

<p>
（３）　ボブは<span title="さかな - fish" class="popup">魚</span>が<em><span title="すき - like" class="popup">好きだった</span></em>。- Bob liked fish.
</p>

<p>
（４）　ボブは<span title="さかな - fish" class="popup">魚</span>が<em><span title="すき - like" class="popup">好きじゃなかった</span></em>。- Bob did not like fish.
</p>

<p>Do the conjugations look familiar?  They should, if you paid attention to the section about <a href="copula.html#part4.adjectives.html">state-of-being</a> conjugations for nouns.
If it bothers you that "like" is an adjective and not a verb in Japanese, you can think of 「<span title="すき - like" class="popup">好き</span>」 as meaning
"desirable". Also, you can see a good example of the
topic and identifier particle working in harmony.  The sentence is about the topic "Bob" and "fish" identifies specifically what Bob likes.
</p>

<p>
You can also use the last three conjugations to directly modify the noun.  (Remember to attach 「な」 for positive non-past tense.)
</p>

<p>
（１）　<span title="さかな - fish" class="popup">魚</span>が<em><span title="すき - like" class="popup">好きな</span></em><span title="タイプ - type" class="popup">タイプ</span>。- Type that likes fish.
</p>

<p>
（２）　<span title="さかな - fish" class="popup">魚</span>が<em><span title="すき - like" class="popup">好きじゃない</span></em><span title="タイプ - type" class="popup">タイプ</span>。- Type that does not like fish.
</p>

<p>
（３）　<span title="さかな - fish" class="popup">魚</span>が<em><span title="すき - like" class="popup">好きだった</span></em><span title="タイプ - type" class="popup">タイプ</span>。- Type that liked fish.
</p>

<p>
（４）　<span title="さかな - fish" class="popup">魚</span>が<em><span title="すき - like" class="popup">好きじゃなかった</span></em><span title="タイプ - type" class="popup">タイプ</span>。- Type that did not like fish.
</p>

<p> Here, the entire clause 「<span title="さかな - fish" class="popup">魚</span>が<span title="すき - like" class="popup">好き</span>」、「<span title="さかな - fish" class="popup">魚</span>が<span title="すき - like" class="popup">好きじゃない</span>」、etc. is modifying "type" to
talk about types (of people) that like or dislike fish.
You can see why this type of sentence is useful because 「タイプは<span title="さかな - fish" class="popup">魚</span>が<em><span title="すき - like" class="popup">好きだ</span></em>。」 would mean "The type likes fish", which doesn't make much sense.
</p>
<p>
We can even treat the whole descriptive noun clause as we would a single noun. For instance, we can make the whole clause a topic like the following example.
</p>

<p>
（１）　<em><span title="さかな - fish" class="popup">魚</span>が<span title="すき - like" class="popup">好き</span>じゃない<span title="タイプ - type" class="popup">タイプ</span></em>は、<span title="にく - meat" class="popup">肉</span>が<span title="すき - like" class="popup">好き</span>だ。
<br />- Types (of people) who do not like fish like meat.
</p>

<h2 id="part3.adjectives.html">The i-adjective</h2>
The i-adjective is called that because it always ends in the hiragana character 「い」.  This is the okurigana and it is the part that will change as you conjugate the
adjective.  But you may know some na-adjectives that also end in 「い」 such as 「<span title="きれい - neat, pretty" class="popup">きれい</span>（な）」.
So how can you tell the difference?
The bad news is there really is no way to tell for sure. However, the really good news is that I can only think of two examples of na-adjectives that end with 「い」 that is usually written in hiragana:
「<span title="きれい - neat, pretty" class="popup">きれい</span>」 and 「<span title="きらい - distasteful, hateful" class="popup">嫌い</span>」.
All other na-adjectives I can think of that end in 「い」 is usually written in kanji and so you can easily tell that it's not an i-adjective. For instance, in the case of
「<span title="きれい - neat, pretty" class="popup">きれい</span>」, which is 「<span title="きれい - neat, pretty" class="popup">綺麗</span>」 or
「<span title="きれい - neat, pretty" class="popup">奇麗</span>」 in kanji,
since the 「い」 part of 「麗」 is encased in kanji, you know that it can't be an i-adjective. That's because the whole point of the 「い」 in i-adjectives is to allow conjugation
without having it affect the kanji. In fact, 「<span title="きらい - distasteful, hateful" class="popup">嫌い</span>」 is the only na-adjective I can think of that ends in
hiragana 「い」 without a kanji. This has to do with the fact that 「<span title="きらい - distasteful, hateful" class="popup">嫌い</span>」
is actually derived from the verb 「<span title="きらう - to hate" class="popup">嫌う</span>」
<p>Remember how the <a href="copula.html#part2.adjectives.html">negative state-of-being</a> for nouns also ended in 「い」 （じゃな<em>い</em>）?
Well, you can treat i-adjectives in the
same fashion as the negative state-of-being for nouns.  And just like the negative state-of-being for nouns, you cannot attach the declarative 「だ」 to i-adjectives
like you can with nouns or na-adjectives.
</p>

<center>
<table class="note">
<tr><td><strong><b>Do NOT attach 「だ」 to i-adjectives.</b></strong></td></tr>
</table>
</center>

<p>Now that we got that matter cleared up, we can learn the conjugation rules for i-adjectives.  There are two new rules for i-adjective conjugations.
To negate or set to past tense, we first drop the 「い」, then add 「くない」 for negation or 「かった」 for past tense.
Since 「くない」 ends in an 「い」, you can also treat the negative just like another i-adjective.
Therefore, the rule for conjugating to negative past tense is the same as the rule for the positive past tense.
</p>

<div class="sumbox">
<span class="summary">Conjugation rules for i-adjectives</span>
<ul class="plain">
<li><b>Negative</b>: First remove the trailing 「い」 from the i-adjective and then attach 「くない」</li>
<li>例）　<span title="たかい - high, tall, expensive" class="popup">高<em><strike>い</strike></em></span> → <span title="たかい - high, tall, expensive" class="popup">高<em>くない</em></span></li>
<li><b>Past-tense</b>: First remove the trailing 「い」 from the i-adjective or negative i-adjective and then attach 「かった」</li>
<li>例）　<span title="たかい - high, tall, expensive" class="popup">高<em><strike>い</strike></em></span> → <span title="たかい - high, tall, expensive" class="popup">高<em>かった</em></span></li>
<li>例）　<span title="たかい - high, tall, expensive" class="popup">高くな<em><strike>い</strike></em></span> → <span title="たかい - high, tall, expensive" class="popup">高くな<em>かった</em></span></li>
</ul>
<center>
<table border="1" cellpadding="5">
<caption>Summary of i-adjectives</caption>
<tr align="center"><th></th><th>Positive</th><th>Negative</th></tr>
<tr align="center"><th>Non-Past</th><td><span title="たかい - high, tall, expensive" class="popup">高い</span></td><td><span title="たかい - high, tall, expensive" class="popup">高くない</span></td></tr>
<tr align="center"><th>Past</th><td><span title="たかい - high, tall, expensive" class="popup">高かった</span></td><td><span title="たかい - high, tall, expensive" class="popup">高くなかった</span></td></tr>
</table>
</center>
</div>

<p>
You can directly modify nouns by just attaching the noun to the adjective.
</p>

<p>
（１）　<em><span title="たかい - high, tall, expensive" class="popup">高い</span></em><span title="ビル - building" class="popup">ビル</span>。- Tall building.
</p>

<p>
（２）　<em><span title="たかい - high, tall, expensive" class="popup">高くない</span></em><span title="ビル - building" class="popup">ビル</span>。- Not tall building.
</p>

<p>
（３）　<em><span title="たかい - high, tall, expensive" class="popup">高かった</span></em><span title="ビル - building" class="popup">ビル</span>。- Building that was tall.
</p>

<p>
（４）　<em><span title="たかい - high, tall, expensive" class="popup">高くなかった</span></em><span title="ビル - building" class="popup">ビル</span>。- Building that was not tall.
</p>

<p>
You can also string multiple adjectives successively in any order in any form.
</p>

<p>
（１）　<em><span title="しずか - quiet" class="popup">静か</span>な<span title="たかい - high, tall, expensive" class="popup">高い</span></em><span title="ビル - building" class="popup">ビル</span>。- A quiet, tall building.
</p>

<p>
（２）　<em><span title="たかい - high, tall, expensive" class="popup">高くない</span><span title="しずか - quiet" class="popup">静か</span>な</em><span title="ビル - building" class="popup">ビル</span>。- A not tall, quiet building.
</p>

<p>
Note that you can make the same type of descriptive noun clause as we have done with na-adjectives. The only difference, of course, is that we don't need 「な」 to directly modify the noun.
In the following example, the descriptive clause 「<span title="ねだん - price" class="popup">値段</span>が<span title="たかい - high, tall, expensive" class="popup">高い</span>」 is directly modifying 「<span title="レストラン - restaraunt" class="popup">レストラン</span>」.
</p>
<p>
（１）　<em><span title="ねだん - price" class="popup">値段</span>が<span title="たかい - high, tall, expensive" class="popup">高い</span><span title="レストラン - restaurant" class="popup">レストラン</span></em>は<span title="あまり - not very" class="popup">あまり</span><span title="すき - like" class="popup">好きじゃない</span>。
<br />- Don't like high price restaurants very much.
</p>

<h2 id="part4.adjectives.html">An annoying exception</h2>
There is one i-adjective meaning "good" that acts slightly differently from all other i-adjectives.  This is a classic case of how learning Japanese
is harder for beginners because the most common and useful words also have the most exceptions.  The word for "good" was originally 「よい（<span title="よい - good" class="popup">良い</span>）」.
However, with time, it soon became 「<span title="いい - good" class="popup">いい</span>」.  When it is written in kanji, it is usually read as 「<span title="よい - good" class="popup">よい</span>」 so 「<span title="いい - good" class="popup">いい</span>」 is almost always hiragana.  That's all fine and
good.  Unfortunately, all the conjugations are still derived from 「<span title="よい - good" class="popup">よい</span>」 and not 「<span title="いい - good" class="popup">いい</span>」.  This is shown in the next table.

<p>
Another adjective that acts like this is
「<span title="かっこいい - good-looking, cool" class="popup">かっこいい</span>」 because it is an abbreviated version of two words merged together:
「<span title="かっこう - looks" class="popup">格好</span>」 and 「<span title="いい - good" class="popup">いい</span>」. Since it uses the same
「<span title="いい - good" class="popup">いい</span>」, you need to use the same conjugations.
</p>

<p />
<center>
<table border="0">
<tr>

<td>
<table border="1" cellpadding="5">
<caption>Conjugation for 「<span title="good" class="popup">いい</span>」</caption>
<tr align="center"><td></td><th>Positive</th><th>Negative</th></tr>
<tr align="center"><th>Non-Past</th><td><span title="いい - good" class="popup">いい</span></td><td><span title="いい - good" class="popup">よくない</span></td></tr>
<tr align="center"><th>Past</th><td><span title="いい - good" class="popup">よかった</span></td><td><span title="いい - good" class="popup">よくなかった</span></td></tr>
</table>
</td>

<td rowspan="2">
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
</td>

<td>
<table border="1" cellpadding="5">
<caption>Conjugation for 「<span title="かっこいい - good-looking, cool" class="popup">かっこいい</span>」</caption>
<tr align="center"><td></td><th>Positive</th><th>Negative</th></tr>
<tr align="center"><th>Non-Past</th><td><span title="かっこいい - good-looking, cool" class="popup">かっこいい</span></td><td><span title="かっこいい - good-looking, cool" class="popup">かっこよくない</span></td></tr>
<tr align="center"><th>Past</th><td><span title="かっこいい - good-looking, cool" class="popup">かっこよかった</span></td><td><span title="かっこいい - good-looking, cool" class="popup">かっこよくなかった</span></td></tr>
</table>
</td>

</tr>
</table>
</center>

<p>
Take care to make all the conjugations from 「<span title="よい - good" class="popup">よい</span>」 not 「<span title="いい - good" class="popup">いい</span>」.
</p>

<h3>Examples</h3>

<p>
（１）　<span title="ねだん - price" class="popup">値段</span>が<span title="あんまり - not very, not much (used only for negative)" class="popup">あんまり</span><span title="いい - good" class="popup"><em>よくない</em></span>。
<br />- Price isn't very good.
</p>

<p>
（２）　<span title="かれ - he; boyfriend" class="popup">彼</span>は<span title="かっこいい - good-looking, cool" class="popup"><em>かっこよかった</em></span>！
<br />- He looked really cool!
</p>


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<p class="copyright">Copyright &copy; 2003-2007 Tae Kim (taekim.japanese AT gmail.com)</p>
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<a href="http://www.guidetojapanese.org/forum/viewforum.php?id=18">Report a correction or suggestion for this page</a>
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<div class="small" style="text-align:right;"><pre>This page has last been revised on 2006/9/15</pre>
</div>
<br class="break"/>
<h1>Adjective Practice Exercises</h1>

<br /><br /><br />

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
<tr><td>
<div class="outline">
<!-- outline menu -->
<center><span class="summary">Outline</span></center>
<ol>
<li><a href="#part1.adjectives_ex.html">Vocabulary used in this section</a></li>
<li><a href="#part2.adjectives_ex.html">Conjugation Exercise</a></li>
<li><a href="#part3.adjectives_ex.html">Sentence completion exercise</a></li>

</ol>
</div>
</td></tr>
</table>

<noscript>
<div class="note">
<p><em>Warning!</em>
<br />You do not have javascript enabled. <br />
Sorry, but you need to have javascript turned on to see the answers to these exercises.</p>
</div>
</noscript>

<h2 id="part1.adjectives_ex.html">Vocabulary used in this section</h2>
In the following exercises, we will practice the conjugations for adjectives. But first, you might want to learn
or review the following useful adjectives that will be used in the exercises.

<div class="sumbox">
<span class="summary">Kanji</span>
<br />I have listed the kanji you will need for the vocabulary for your convenience. The link will take you to a diagram of the stroke order.
However, it doesn't clearly show the direction (though you can kind of tell by the animation) so you should check with a kanji dictionary if you're not sure.
I recommend practicing the kanji in the context of real words (such as the ones below).
<ol>
<li><a href="http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~jwb/cgi-bin/wwwhalsod.cgi?2087_%CC%CC">面</a> - mask; face</li>
<li><a href="http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~jwb/cgi-bin/wwwhalsod.cgi?3493_%C7%F2">白</a> - white</li>
<li><a href="http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~jwb/cgi-bin/wwwhalsod.cgi?2983_%CD%AD">有</a> - exist</li>
<li><a href="http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~jwb/cgi-bin/wwwhalsod.cgi?2169_%CC%BE">名</a> - name</li>
<li><a href="http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~jwb/cgi-bin/wwwhalsod.cgi?0636_%B7%F9">嫌</a> - hate</li>
<li><a href="http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~jwb/cgi-bin/wwwhalsod.cgi?0208_%B9%A5">好</a> - like</li>
<li><a href="http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~jwb/cgi-bin/wwwhalsod.cgi?1728_%C0%C5">静</a> - quiet</li>
<li><a href="http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~jwb/cgi-bin/wwwhalsod.cgi?2826_%B3%DA">楽</a> - music; comfort</li>
<li><a href="http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~jwb/cgi-bin/wwwhalsod.cgi?0027_%C0%DA">切</a> - cut</li>
<li><a href="http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~jwb/cgi-bin/wwwhalsod.cgi?2038_%BF%C9">辛</a> - spicy; bitter</li>
<li><a href="http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~jwb/cgi-bin/wwwhalsod.cgi?1292_%CE%C1">料</a> - materials</li>
<li><a href="http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~jwb/cgi-bin/wwwhalsod.cgi?0970_%CD%FD">理</a> - reason</li>
</ol>
</div>


<div class="sumbox">
<span class="summary">Vocabulary</span>
<br />Here is a list of some simple adjectives (and one noun) that might be used in the exercises.
<ol>
<li>きれい - pretty; neat</li>
<li>いい - good</li>
<li>かっこいい - cool; good-looking</li>
<li>面白い 【おもしろい】 - interesting</li>
<li>有名 【ゆうめい】 - famous</li>
<li>嫌い 【きらい】 - dislike; hate</li>
<li>好き 【すき】 - like</li>
<li>大きい 【おおきい】 - big</li>
<li>小さい 【ちいさい】 - small</li>
<li>静か 【しずか】 - quiet</li>
<li>高い 【たかい】 - high; expensive</li>
<li>楽しい 【たのしい】 - fun</li>
<li>大切 【たいせつ】 - important</li>
<li>辛い 【からい】 - spicy</li>
<li>料理 【りょうり】 - cuisine</li>
</ol>
</div>


<h2 id="part2.adjectives_ex.html">Conjugation Exercise</h2>
We are now going to practice the adjectives conjugations in order.
Take each adjective and conjugate it to the following forms: the declarative (when applicable), negative, past, and negative past. In order to emphasize
the fact that you can't use the declarative 「だ」 with i-adjectives, you should just  write "n/a" (or just leave it blank) when a conjugation does not apply.

<br /><br /><br />

<div id="exercise1">

<table class="large" border="1" cellpadding="5">
	<tr align="center">
		<td>plain</td><td>declarative</td><td>negative</td><td>past</td><td>negative-past</td>
	</tr>
	<tr align="center">
		<td>面白い</td>
		<td class="answerline"><span class="hide">n/a</span></td>
		<td class="answerline"><span class="hide">面白くない</span></td>
		<td class="answerline"><span class="hide">面白かった</span></td>
		<td class="answerline"><span class="hide">面白くなかった</span></td>
	</tr>
	<tr align="center">
		<td>有名</td>
		<td class="answerline"><span class="hide">有名だ</span></td>
		<td class="answerline"><span class="hide">有名じゃない</span></td>
		<td class="answerline"><span class="hide">有名だった</span></td>
		<td class="answerline"><span class="hide">有名じゃなかった</span></td>
	</tr>
	<tr align="center">
		<td>嫌い</td>
		<td class="answerline"><span class="hide">嫌いだ</span></td>
		<td class="answerline"><span class="hide">嫌いじゃない</span></td>
		<td class="answerline"><span class="hide">嫌いだった</span></td>
		<td class="answerline"><span class="hide">嫌いじゃなかった</span></td>
	</tr>
	<tr align="center">
		<td>好き</td>
		<td class="answerline"><span class="hide">好きだ</span></td>
		<td class="answerline"><span class="hide">好きじゃない</span></td>
		<td class="answerline"><span class="hide">好きだった</span></td>
		<td class="answerline"><span class="hide">好きじゃなかった</span></td>
	</tr>
	<tr align="center">
		<td>大きい</td>
		<td class="answerline"><span class="hide">n/a</span></td>
		<td class="answerline"><span class="hide">大きくない</span></td>
		<td class="answerline"><span class="hide">大きかった</span></td>
		<td class="answerline"><span class="hide">大きくなかった</span></td>
	</tr>
	<tr align="center">
		<td>きれい</td>
		<td class="answerline"><span class="hide">きれいだ</span></td>
		<td class="answerline"><span class="hide">きれいじゃない</span></td>
		<td class="answerline"><span class="hide">きれいだった</span></td>
		<td class="answerline"><span class="hide">きれいじゃなかった</span></td>
	</tr>
	<tr align="center">
		<td>小さい</td>
		<td class="answerline"><span class="hide">n/a</span></td>
		<td class="answerline"><span class="hide">小さくない</span></td>
		<td class="answerline"><span class="hide">小さかった</span></td>
		<td class="answerline"><span class="hide">小さくなかった</span></td>
	</tr>
	<tr align="center">
		<td>いい</td>
		<td class="answerline"><span class="hide">n/a</span></td>
		<td class="answerline"><span class="hide">よくない</span></td>
		<td class="answerline"><span class="hide">よかった</span></td>
		<td class="answerline"><span class="hide">よくなかった</span></td>
	</tr>
		<tr align="center">
			<td>静か</td>
			<td class="answerline"><span class="hide">静かだ</span></td>
			<td class="answerline"><span class="hide">静かじゃない</span></td>
			<td class="answerline"><span class="hide">静かだった</span></td>
			<td class="answerline"><span class="hide">静かじゃなかった</span></td>
	</tr>
	<tr align="center">
		<td>高い</td>
		<td class="answerline"><span class="hide">n/a</span></td>
		<td class="answerline"><span class="hide">高くない</span></td>
		<td class="answerline"><span class="hide">高かった</span></td>
		<td class="answerline"><span class="hide">高くなかった</span></td>
	</tr>
	<tr align="center">
		<td>かっこいい</td>
		<td class="answerline"><span class="hide">n/a</span></td>
		<td class="answerline"><span class="hide">かっこよくない</span></td>
		<td class="answerline"><span class="hide">かっこよかった</span></td>
		<td class="answerline"><span class="hide">かっこよくなかった</span></td>
	</tr>
	<tr align="center">
		<td>楽しい</td>
		<td class="answerline"><span class="hide">n/a</span></td>
		<td class="answerline"><span class="hide">楽しくない</span></td>
		<td class="answerline"><span class="hide">楽しかった</span></td>
		<td class="answerline"><span class="hide">楽しくなかった</span></td>
	</tr>
	<tr align="center">
		<td>大切</td>
		<td class="answerline"><span class="hide">大切だ</span></td>
		<td class="answerline"><span class="hide">大切じゃない</span></td>
		<td class="answerline"><span class="hide">大切だった</span></td>
		<td class="answerline"><span class="hide">大切じゃなかった</span></td>
	</tr>
</table>

<div class="sumbox" align="center"><a href="javascript:void(0)" onclick="showAll('exercise1');">Show all answers</a>
 | <a href="javascript:void(0)" onclick="hideAll('exercise1');">Hide all answers</a></div>

</div>


<h2 id="part3.adjectives_ex.html">Sentence completion exercise</h2>
Now that we've practiced the basic conjugations for adjectives, we are going to practice using them in actual sentences using the particles covered in the
last section.

<h3>Fill in the blank with the appropriate adjective or particle</h3>

<b>Sample:</b>
<br />Ｑ）　学生？
<br />Ａ）　ううん、<u>学生じゃない</u>。

<div id="exercise2">
<br />
<table class="large" border="0" cellspacing="8">

<tr>
	<td>1.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
	<td>ジム）　アリス、今<span class="answerline"><span class="hide">　は　</span></span>忙しい？</td>
</tr>
<tr>
	<td>アリス）　ううん、<span class="answerline"><span class="hide">　　忙しくない　　</span></span>。</td>
</tr>

<tr><td>　</td></tr>

<tr>
	<td>2.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
	<td>アリス）　何<span class="answerline"><span class="hide">　が　</span></span>楽しい？</td>
</tr>
<tr>
	<td>ボブ）　ゲーム<span class="answerline"><span class="hide">　が　</span></span>楽しい。</td>
</tr>

<tr><td>　</td></tr>

<tr>
	<td>3.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
	<td>アリス）　<span class="answerline"><span class="hide">　　大切な　　</span></span>人は誰？</td>
</tr>
<tr>
	<td>ボブ）　ジム<span class="answerline"><span class="hide">　が　</span></span>大切だ。</td>
</tr>

<tr><td>　</td></tr>

<tr>
	<td>4.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
	<td>アリス）　<span class="answerline"><span class="hide">　　辛い　　</span></span>料理は、好き？</td>
</tr>
<tr>
	<td>ボブ）　ううん、辛くない料理<span class="answerline"><span class="hide">　が　</span></span>好きだ。</td>
</tr>

<tr><td>　</td></tr>


<tr>
	<td>5.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
	<td>アリス）　ジム<span class="answerline"><span class="hide">　は　</span></span>、かっこいい人？</td>
</tr>
<tr>
	<td>ボブ）　ううん、<span class="answerline"><span class="hide">　　かっこよくない　　</span></span>。</td>
</tr>

<tr><td>　</td></tr>

<tr>
	<td>6.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
	<td>アリス）　ボブは、<span class="answerline"><span class="hide">　　有名な　　</span></span>人？</td>
</tr>
<tr>
	<td>ボブ）　ううん、有名じゃない。</td>
</tr>

<tr><td>　</td></tr>

<tr>
	<td>7.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
	<td>アリス）　昨日のテストは、よかった？</td>
</tr>
<tr>
	<td>ボブ）　ううん、<span class="answerline"><span class="hide">　　よくなかった　　</span></span>。</td>
</tr>


</table>

<div class="sumbox" align="center"><a href="javascript:void(0)" onclick="showAll('exercise2');">Show all answers</a>
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<p class="copyright">Copyright &copy; 2003-2007 Tae Kim (taekim.japanese AT gmail.com)</p>
<p>
<a href="http://www.guidetojapanese.org/forum/viewforum.php?id=18">Report a correction or suggestion for this page</a>
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</div>

<div class="small" style="text-align:right;"><pre>This page has last been revised on 2005/12/10</pre></div>

<br class="break"/>
<h1>Let's do stuff with verbs!</h1>

<br /><br /><br />

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
<tr><td>
<div class="outline">
<!-- outline menu -->
<center><span class="summary">Outline</span></center>
<ol>
<li><a href="#part1.verbs.html">Role of Verbs</a></li>
<li><a href="#part2.verbs.html">Classifying verbs into ru-verbs and u-verbs</a></li>
<li><a href="#part3.verbs.html">Appendix: iru/eru u-verbs</a></li>
</ol>
</div>
</td></tr>
</table>

<h2 id="part1.verbs.html">Role of Verbs</h2>

We've now learned how to describe nouns in various ways with other nouns and adjectives.  This gives us quite a bit of expressive power.  However,
we still cannot express actions.  This is where verbs come in.  Verbs, in Japanese, always come at the end of clauses.  Since we have not yet
learned how to create more than one clause, for now it means that any sentence with a verb must end with the verb. We will now learn the two main
categories of verbs, which will allow us to accurately define rules for conjugation.  Before learning about verbs, there in one important thing to keep in mind.

<p />
<center>
<table class="note">
<tr><td><strong><b>A grammatically complete sentence requires a verb <u>only</u> (including state of being).</b></strong></td></tr>
</table>
</center>

<p>Or to rephrase, unlike English, the only thing you need to make a grammatically complete sentence is a verb and nothing else!
Understanding this
fundamental property is essential to understanding Japanese.  That's why even the simplest, most basic Japanese sentence
cannot be translated into English!  All conjugations will start from the dictionary form (as they appear in the dictionary). </p>

<p>A grammatically complete sentence
<br />（１）　<span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べる</span>。- Eat. (possible translations include: I eat/she eats/they eat)
</p>

<h2 id="part2.verbs.html">Classifying verbs into ru-verbs and u-verbs</h2>
Almost all verbs in Japanese can be classified into two categories: ru-verb （<span title="いちだんどうし - type II verb" class="popup">一段動詞</span>） and
u-verbs （<span title="ごだんどうし - type I verb" class="popup">五段動詞</span>）.  The only two verbs that are not
considered to be in either category are 「<span title="する - to do" class="popup">する</span>」 meaning "to do" and
「<span title="くる - to come" class="popup">来る</span>」 meaning "to come". Otherwise, the rules for conjugation are almost all the same
depending on what class the verb is in.  The way to distinguish between these verbs is fairly straightforward.

<p>
Remember, every verb has a string of kana called okurigana, which you can modify to conjugate the verb. If you convert the verb to Roman 	characters (called 「<span title="ろーまじ - romanization" class="popup">ローマ字</span>」 in Japanese) and it ends in either "iru" or "eru", then it is usually a ru-verb. For example, 「<span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べる</span>」 is romanized as "tab<em>eru</em>" and since it ends in "eru", it is a ru-verb. Another example of a ru-verb is 「<span title="おきる - to get up" class="popup">起きる</span>」, which romanizes to "ok<em>iru</em>". All other verbs that do not end in "iru" or "eru" are u-verbs.
</p>

<p>
However, there is just one snag here. Notice that all ru-verbs end with 「る」 and u-verbs always end in a / u / vowel sound. This unfortunately includes 「る」 in addition to 「つ」、「す」、「く」、「ぐ」、「む」、「ぶ」、「う」、and 「ぬ」 （「<span title="しぬ - to die" class="popup">死ぬ</span>」 is the only verb that ends in 「ぬ」）. Even if a verb ends with 「る」, if it does not end in "iru" or "eru", it is always an u-verb. However, there are a number of u-verbs that end in "iru" or "eru" and there is no way to distinguish them from regular ru-verbs apart from memorization. You can refer to the appendix at the end of this lesson for a list of such verbs. You can also refer to <a href="http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/cgi-bin/cgiwrap/jwb/wwwjdic?1C">Jim Breen's WWWJDIC</a>, if you have any doubts. Ru-verb are denoted as (v1) while u-verbs are denoted as (v5r).
</p>

<p>
Because of the aural consistency in the rules, with practice, u-verbs will start to "sound" like u-verbs and likewise for ru-verbs. Eventually, you'll be able to categorize new verbs just like that without giving it a second thought. Or at least, that should be the intended goal.
</p>

<div class="sumbox">
<span class="summary">How to classify ru-verbs and u-verbs</span>
<ul>
<li>Does not end in iru/eru → <b>u-verb</b>
<li>Ends in iru/eru → <b>ru-verb with some exceptions</b></li>
</ul>
</div>


<center>
<table border="0">
<tr>

<td>
<table border="1" cellpadding="5">
<caption>Sample ru-verbs</caption>

<tr align="center"><th>Verb</th><th>ローマ字</th></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べる</span></td><td>tab<em>eru</em></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="きる - to wear" class="popup">着る</span></td><td>k<em>iru</em></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="しんじる - to believe" class="popup">信じる</span></td><td>shinj<em>iru</em></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="ねる - to sleep" class="popup">寝る</span></td><td>n<em>eru</em></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="おきる - to get up" class="popup">起きる</span></td><td>ok<em>iru</em></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="でる - to come out" class="popup">出る</span></td><td>d<em>eru</em></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="かける - to hang" class="popup">掛ける</span></td><td>kak<em>eru</em></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="すてる - to throw away" class="popup">捨てる</span></td><td>sut<em>eru</em></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="しらべる - to investigate" class="popup">調べる</span></td><td>shirab<em>eru</em></td></tr>
</table>
</td>

<td rowspan="2">
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
</td>

<td>
<table border="1" cellpadding="5">
<caption>Sample u-verbs</caption>
<tr align="center"><th>Verb</th><th>ローマ字</th></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="はなす - to speak" class="popup">話す</span></td><td>hanasu</td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="きく - to hear, to ask" class="popup">聞く</span></td><td>kiku</td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="およぐ - to swim" class="popup">泳ぐ</span></td><td>oyogu</td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="あそぶ - to play" class="popup">遊ぶ</span></td><td>asobu</td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="まつ - to wait" class="popup">待つ</span></td><td>matu</td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="のむ - to drink" class="popup">飲む</span></td><td>nomu</td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="なおる - to be fixed" class="popup">直る</span></td><td>naoru</td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="しぬ - to die" class="popup">死ぬ</span></td><td>shinu</td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="かう - to buy" class="popup">買う</span></td><td>kau</td></tr>
</table>
</td>

<td rowspan="2">
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
</td>

<td valign="top">
<table border="1" cellpadding="5">
<caption>Neither ru-verb nor u-verb</caption>

<tr align="center"><th>Verb</th><th>ローマ字</th></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="する - to do" class="popup">する</span></td><td>suru</td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="くる - to come" class="popup">くる</span></td><td>kuru</td></tr>

</table>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</center>

<h3>Examples</h3>
Here are some example sentences using ru-verbs, u-verbs, and exception verbs.
<br />（１）　アリスは<em><span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べる</span></em>。- As for Alice, eat.
<br />（２）　ジムが<em><span title="あそぶ - to play" class="popup">遊ぶ</span></em>。- Jim is the one that plays.
<br />（３）　ボブも<em><span title="する - to do" class="popup">する</span></em>。- Bob also do.
<br />（４）　<span title="おかね - money" class="popup">お金</span>が<em><span title="ある - to exist (inanimate)" class="popup">ある</span></em>。- There is money. (lit: As for money, it exists.)
<br />（５）　<span title="わたし - me, myself, I" class="popup">私</span>は<em><span title="かう - to buy" class="popup">買う</span></em>。- As for me, buy.
<br />（６）　<span title="ねこ - cat" class="popup">猫</span>は<em><span title="いる- to exist (animate)" class="popup">いる</span></em>。- There is cat. (lit: As for cat, it exists.)

<h2 id="part3.verbs.html">Appendix: iru/eru u-verbs</h2>
Here is a list of commonly used u-verbs that end in "iru" or "eru". This list is categorized roughly into three levels to help you focus on the verbs you need to learn. This list is <u>not</u> intended to include every verb under the sun.

<br /><br />
<center>
<table border="1" cellpadding="5">
<caption>iru/eru u-verbs grouped (roughly) by level</caption>
<tr align="center"><th>Basic</th><th>Intermediate</th><th>Advanced</th></tr>

<tr align="center">
<td><span title="いる - to need" class="popup">要る</span></td>
<td><span title="あせる - to be in a hurry" class="popup">焦る</span></td>
<td><span title="あざける - to ridicule" class="popup">嘲る</span></td>
</tr>

<tr align="center">
<td><span title="かえる - to go home" class="popup">帰る</span></td>
<td><span title="かぎる - to limit" class="popup">限る</span></td>
<td><span title="くつがえる - to overturn" class="popup">覆る</span></td>
</tr>

<tr align="center">
<td><span title="きる - to cut" class="popup">切る</span></td>
<td><span title="ける - to kick" class="popup">蹴る</span></td>
<td><span title="さえぎる - to interrupt" class="popup">遮る</span></td>
</tr>

<tr align="center">
<td><span title="しゃべる - to talk" class="popup">しゃべる</span></td>
<td><span title="すべる - to be slippery" class="popup">滑る</span></td>
<td><span title="ののしる - to abuse verbally" class="popup">罵る</span></td>
</tr>

<tr align="center">
<td><span title="しる - to know" class="popup">知る</span></td>
<td><span title="にぎる - to grasp" class="popup">握る</span></td>
<td><span title="ひねる - to twist" class="popup">捻る</span></td>
</tr>

<tr align="center">
<td><span title="はいる - to enter" class="popup">入る</span></td>
<td><span title="ねる - to knead" class="popup">練る</span></td>
<td><span title="ひるがえる - to turn over, to wave" class="popup">翻る</span></td>
</tr>

<tr align="center">
<td><span title="はしる - to run" class="popup">走る</span></td>
<td><span title="まいる (hum.)  - to go; to come" class="popup">参る</span></td>
<td><span title="めいる - to feel depressed" class="popup">滅入る</span></td>
</tr>

<tr align="center">
<td><span title="へる - to decrease" class="popup">減る</span></td>
<td><span title="まじる - to mingle" class="popup">交じる</span></td>
<td><span title="よみがえる - to be resurrected" class="popup">蘇る</span></td>
</tr>

</table>
</center>

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<p class="copyright">Copyright &copy; 2003-2007 Tae Kim (taekim.japanese AT gmail.com)</p>
<p>
<a href="http://www.guidetojapanese.org/forum/viewforum.php?id=18">Report a correction or suggestion for this page</a>
</p>
</div>

<div class="small" style="text-align:right;"><pre>This page has last been revised on 2006/9/17
Added small list of exception verbs (2006/9/6)
</pre>
</div>

<br class="break"/>
<h1>Verb Practice Exercises</h1>

<br /><br /><br />

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
<tr><td>
<div class="outline">
<!-- outline menu -->
<center><span class="summary">Outline</span></center>
<ol>
<li><a href="#part1.verbs_ex.html">Vocabulary used in this section</a></li>
<li><a href="#part2.verbs_ex.html">Practice with Verb Classification</a></li>

</ol>
</div>
</td></tr>
</table>

<noscript>
<div class="note">
<p><em>Warning!</em>
<br />You do not have javascript enabled. <br />
Sorry, but you need to have javascript enabled to see the answers to these exercises.</p>
</div>
</noscript>

<h2 id="part1.verbs_ex.html">Vocabulary used in this section</h2>
Here is a list of a few verbs and the accompanying kanji that you will find useful.
<div class="sumbox">
<span class="summary">Kanji</span>
<br />I have listed the kanji you will need for the vocabulary for your convenience. The link will take you to a diagram of the stroke order.
However, it doesn't clearly show the direction (though you can kind of tell by the animation) so you should check with a kanji dictionary if you're not sure.
I recommend practicing the kanji in the context of real words (such as the ones below).
<ol>
<li><a href="http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~jwb/cgi-bin/wwwhalsod.cgi?2544_%B8%AB">見</a> - see</li>
<li><a href="http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~jwb/cgi-bin/wwwhalsod.cgi?3551_%CD%E8">来</a> - come; next</li>
<li><a href="http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~jwb/cgi-bin/wwwhalsod.cgi?0212_%B9%D4">行</a> - go; conduct</li>
<li><a href="http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~jwb/cgi-bin/wwwhalsod.cgi?0130_%B5%A2">帰</a> - go home</li>
<li><a href="http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~jwb/cgi-bin/wwwhalsod.cgi?2075_%BF%A9">食</a> - eat; food</li>
<li><a href="http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~jwb/cgi-bin/wwwhalsod.cgi?1692_%B0%FB">飲</a> - drink</li>
<li><a href="http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~jwb/cgi-bin/wwwhalsod.cgi?2598_%C7%E3">買</a> - buy</li>
<li><a href="http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~jwb/cgi-bin/wwwhalsod.cgi?2196_%C7%E4">売</a> - sell</li>
<li><a href="http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~jwb/cgi-bin/wwwhalsod.cgi?0374_%BB%FD">持</a> - hold</li>
<li><a href="http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~jwb/cgi-bin/wwwhalsod.cgi?0364_%C2%D4">待</a> - wait</li>
<li><a href="http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~jwb/cgi-bin/wwwhalsod.cgi?1541_%C6%C9">読</a> - read</li>
<li><a href="http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~jwb/cgi-bin/wwwhalsod.cgi?2416_%CA%E2">歩</a> - walk</li>
<li><a href="http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~jwb/cgi-bin/wwwhalsod.cgi?2194_%C1%F6">走</a> - run</li>
<li><a href="http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~jwb/cgi-bin/wwwhalsod.cgi?3142_%CD%B7">遊</a> - play</li>
</ol>
</div>


<div class="sumbox">
<span class="summary">Vocabulary</span>
<br />Here is a list of some common verbs you will definitely want to learn at some point.
<ol>
<li>する - to do</li>
<li>しゃべる - to talk; to chat</li>
<li>見る【みる】 - to see</li>
<li>来る【くる】 - to come</li>
<li>行く【いく】 - to go</li>
<li>帰る 【かえる】 - to go home</li>
<li>食べる 【たべる】 - to eat</li>
<li>飲む 【のむ】 - to drink</li>
<li>買う 【かう】 - to buy</li>
<li>売る 【うる】 - to sell</li>
<li>切る 【きる】 - to cut</li>
<li>入る 【はいる】 - to enter</li>
<li>出る 【でる】 - to come out</li>
<li>持つ 【もつ】 - to hold</li>
<li>待つ 【まつ】 - to wait</li>
<li>書く【かく】 - to write</li>
<li>読む 【よむ】 - to read</li>
<li>歩く 【あるく】 - to walk</li>
<li>走る 【はしる】 - to run</li>
<li>遊ぶ 【あそぶ】 - to play</li>
</ol>
</div>


<h2 id="part2.verbs_ex.html">Practice with Verb Classification</h2>
There's really not much to do at this point except to practice classifying verbs as either a ru-verb or an u-verb. You can also take this opportunity
to learn some useful verbs if you do not know them already. We'll learn how to conjugate these verbs according to their category in the next few sections.

<p>In the chart below, you should mark whether the given verb is either an u-verb or a ru-verb. The first answer is given as an example of what you need to do.
Obviously, verbs that do not end in 「る」 are always going to
be u-verbs so the tricky part is figuring out the category for verbs that end in 「る」. Remember that verbs that do not end in "eru" or "iru" will always be
u-verbs. While most verbs that do end in "eru" or "iru" are ru-verbs, to make things interesting, I've also included a number of u-verbs that also end in
eru/iru. You might want to refer to the <a href="verbs.html#part3.verbs_ex.html">list of eru/iru u-verbs</a>. Though you do not need to memorize every word in the list by any means, you should at least memorize the basic verbs.

<br /><br />
<div id="exercise1">

<center>
<table class="large" border="1" cellpadding="3">
	<tr align="center">
		<td>verb</td><td>ru-verb</td><td>u-verb</td><td>exception verb</td>
	</tr>
	<tr align="center">
		<td>行く</td>
		<td class="answerline"><span style="font-size: 150%;">&nbsp;</span></td>
		<td class="answerline"><span style="font-size: 150%;">●</span></td>
		<td class="answerline"><span style="font-size: 150%;"> &nbsp;</span></td>
	</tr>
	<tr align="center">
		<td>出る</td>
		<td class="answerline"><span style="font-size: 150%;" class="hide">●</span></td>
		<td class="answerline"><span style="font-size: 150%;" class="hide">&nbsp;</span></td>
		<td class="answerline"><span style="font-size: 150%;" class="hide"> &nbsp;</span></td>
	</tr>
	<tr align="center">
		<td>する</td>
		<td class="answerline"><span style="font-size: 150%;" class="hide">&nbsp;</span></td>
		<td class="answerline"><span style="font-size: 150%;" class="hide">&nbsp;</span></td>
		<td class="answerline"><span style="font-size: 150%;" class="hide">●</span></td>
	</tr>
	<tr align="center">
		<td>買う</td>
		<td class="answerline"><span style="font-size: 150%;" class="hide">&nbsp;</span></td>
		<td class="answerline"><span style="font-size: 150%;" class="hide">●</span></td>
		<td class="answerline"><span style="font-size: 150%;" class="hide">&nbsp;</span></td>
	</tr>
	<tr align="center">
		<td>売る</td>
		<td class="answerline"><span style="font-size: 150%;" class="hide">&nbsp;</span></td>
		<td class="answerline"><span style="font-size: 150%;" class="hide">●</span></td>
		<td class="answerline"><span style="font-size: 150%;" class="hide">&nbsp;</span></td>
	</tr>
	<tr align="center">
		<td>食べる</td>
		<td class="answerline"><span style="font-size: 150%;" class="hide">●</span></td>
		<td class="answerline"><span style="font-size: 150%;" class="hide">&nbsp;</span></td>
		<td class="answerline"><span style="font-size: 150%;" class="hide">&nbsp;</span></td>
	</tr>
	<tr align="center">
		<td>入る</td>
		<td class="answerline"><span style="font-size: 150%;" class="hide">&nbsp;</span></td>
		<td class="answerline"><span style="font-size: 150%;" class="hide">●</span></td>
		<td class="answerline"><span style="font-size: 150%;" class="hide">&nbsp;</span></td>
	</tr>
	<tr align="center">
		<td>来る</td>
		<td class="answerline"><span style="font-size: 150%;" class="hide">&nbsp;</span></td>
		<td class="answerline"><span style="font-size: 150%;" class="hide">&nbsp;</span></td>
		<td class="answerline"><span style="font-size: 150%;" class="hide">●</span></td>
	</tr>
	<tr align="center">
		<td>飲む</td>
		<td class="answerline"><span style="font-size: 150%;" class="hide">&nbsp;</span></td>
		<td class="answerline"><span style="font-size: 150%;" class="hide">●</span></td>
		<td class="answerline"><span style="font-size: 150%;" class="hide">&nbsp;</span></td>
	</tr>
		<tr align="center">
		<td>しゃべる</td>
		<td class="answerline"><span style="font-size: 150%;" class="hide">&nbsp;</span></td>
		<td class="answerline"><span style="font-size: 150%;" class="hide">●</span></td>
		<td class="answerline"><span style="font-size: 150%;" class="hide">&nbsp;</span></td>
	</tr>
	<tr align="center">
		<td>見る</td>
		<td class="answerline"><span style="font-size: 150%;" class="hide">●</span></td>
		<td class="answerline"><span style="font-size: 150%;" class="hide">&nbsp;</span></td>
		<td class="answerline"><span style="font-size: 150%;" class="hide">&nbsp;</span></td>
	</tr>
	<tr align="center">
		<td>切る</td>
		<td class="answerline"><span style="font-size: 150%;" class="hide">&nbsp;</span></td>
		<td class="answerline"><span style="font-size: 150%;" class="hide">●</span></td>
		<td class="answerline"><span style="font-size: 150%;" class="hide">&nbsp;</span></td>
	</tr>
	<tr align="center">
		<td>帰る</td>
		<td class="answerline"><span style="font-size: 150%;" class="hide">&nbsp;</span></td>
		<td class="answerline"><span style="font-size: 150%;" class="hide">●</span></td>
		<td class="answerline"><span style="font-size: 150%;" class="hide">&nbsp;</span></td>
	</tr>
	<tr align="center">
		<td>書く</td>
		<td class="answerline"><span style="font-size: 150%;" class="hide">&nbsp;</span></td>
		<td class="answerline"><span style="font-size: 150%;" class="hide">●</span></td>
		<td class="answerline"><span style="font-size: 150%;" class="hide">&nbsp;</span></td>
	</tr>
</table>
</center>

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<p class="copyright">Copyright &copy; 2003-2007 Tae Kim (taekim.japanese AT gmail.com)</p>
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<div class="small" style="text-align:right;"><pre>This page has last been revised on 2006/9/6</pre></div>

<br class="break"/>
<h1>Sometimes you have to be negative</h1>

<br /><br /><br />

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
<tr><td>
<div class="outline">
<!-- outline menu -->
<center><span class="summary">Outline</span></center>
<ol>
<li><a href="#part1.negverb.html">Negating verbs</a></li>
<li><a href="#part2.negverb.html">Conjugating verbs into the negative</a></li>
</ol>
</div>
</td></tr>
</table>

<h2 id="part1.negverb.html">Negating verbs</h2>
Now that we've seen how to declare things and perform actions with verbs, we want to be able to say the negative. In other words, we want to say that
such-and-such action was <i>not</i> performed.  Verbs are negated by conjugating to their negative form just like the state-of-being for nouns and adjectives.
However, the rules are a tad more complicated.

<h2 id="part2.negverb.html">Conjugating verbs into the negative</h2>
We will now make use of the verb classifications we learned in the last section to define the rules for conjugation. But before we get into that, we need to cover one very
	important exception to the negative conjugation rules, the verb 「<span title="ある - to exist (inanimate)" class="popup">ある</span>」.
「<span title="ある - to exist (inanimate)" class="popup">ある</span>」 is an u-verb used to express existence of inanimate objects.

<p>
For example, if you wanted to
say that a chair is in the
room, you would use the verb 「<span title="ある - to exist (inanimate)" class="popup">ある</span>」.  The equivalent verb for animate objects
(such as people or animals) is 「<span title="いる - to exist (animate)" class="popup">いる</span>」, which is a normal ru-verb.  For example, if you
wanted to say that a <i>person</i> is in the room, you must use the verb 「<span title="いる - to exist (animate)" class="popup">いる</span>」
not 「<span title="ある - to exist (inanimate)" class="popup">ある</span>」.  These two verbs
「<span title="ある - to exist (inanimate)" class="popup">ある</span>」 and 「<span title="いる - to exist (animate)" class="popup">いる</span>」 are quite
different from all other verbs because they describe existence and are not an actual action.  You also have to go through the bother of picking the right
one for inanimate and animate objects.
</p>

<p>
Anyway, the reason I bring it up here is because the negative of 「<span title="ある - to exist (inanimate)" class="popup">ある</span>」
is 「<span title="ある - to exist (inanimate)" class="popup">ない</span>」 (meaning that something does not exist). Remember, this is an exception so do not
apply the normal rules of negation to this verb.
</p>

<center>
<table class="note">
<tr><td><strong><b>The negative of 「<span title="ある - to exist (inanimate)" class="popup">ある</span>」 is 「<span title="ある - to exist (inanimate)" class="popup">ない</span>」.</b></strong></td></tr>
</table>
</center>

<p>Here are the rules for all other verbs.  To negate a ru-verb, you simple drop 「る」 and add 「ない」.  For
u-verbs, it may be helpful to see the romanized version of the verb.  You simply drop the / u / vowel sound and add "anai".  Or, more preferably, you can refer
back to the <a href="hiragana.html#part1.negverb.html"><i>hiragana table</i></a>.  You take the last hiragana character which will always be in the / u / row, move
up two columns and replace it with the character in the / a / row.  For example 「く」 changes to 「か」.
</p>

<p>
One important exception to this rule are for verbs that end in 「う」. You must substitute 「わ」 for 「う」 and
not 「あ」 as the rule would suggest.  You will also have to memorize the conjugations for the two exception verbs and 「<span title="ある - to exist (inanimate)" class="popup">ある</span>」.
The following tables show the conjugation for sample verbs and the exception verbs.
</p>

<div class="sumbox">
<span class="summary">How to conjugate verbs to the negative form</span>
<ul>
<li><b>ru-verbs:</b> To conjugate ru-verbs to their negative, drop the last 「る」 and attach 「ない」 to the result.
<br />例）　<span title="みる - to see" class="popup">見<em><strike>る</strike></em></span> → <span title="みる - to see" class="popup">見<em>ない</em></span>
<br />例）　<span title="でる - to come out" class="popup">出<em><strike>る</strike></em></span> → <span title="でる - to come out" class="popup">出<em>ない</em></span>
</li>
</ul>

<ul>
<li><b>u-verbs:</b> To conjugate u-verbs to their negative, first replace the last / u / character with the / a / sound equivalent and attach 「ない」 to the result.
<br />例）　<span title="のむ - to drink" class="popup">飲<em><strike>む</strike></em></span> → <span title="のむ - to drink" class="popup">飲<em>ま</em></span> → <span title="のむ - to drink" class="popup">飲ま<em>ない</em></span>
<br />例）　<span title="まつ - to wait" class="popup">待<em><strike>つ</strike></em></span> → <span title="まつ - to wait" class="popup">待<em>た</em></span> → <span title="まつ - to wait" class="popup">待た<em>ない</em></span>
<br />
<br />※ One important exception is verbs that end in 「う」. For these, you must replace 「う」 with 「わ」 （<i>not</i> 「あ」） and 	attach 「ない」 to the result.
<br />例）　<span title="ひろう - to pick up" class="popup">拾<em><strike>う</strike></em></span> → <span title="ひろう - to pick up" class="popup">拾<em>わ</em></span> → <span title="ひろう - to pick up" class="popup">拾わ<em>ない</em></span>
</li>

</ul>
</div>

<center>
<table border="0">
<tr>
<td>
<table border="1" cellpadding="5">
<caption>Sample ru-verbs</caption>
<tr align="center"><th>Positive</th><th>Negative</th></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べ<em>る</em></span></td><td><span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べ<em>ない</em></span></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="きる - to wear" class="popup">着<em>る</em></span></td><td><span title="きる - to wear" class="popup">着<em>ない</em></span></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="しんじる - to believe" class="popup">信じ<em>る</em></span></td><td><span title="しんじる - to believe" class="popup">信じ<em>ない</em></span></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="ねる - to sleep" class="popup">寝<em>る</em></span></td><td><span title="ねる - to sleep" class="popup">寝<em>ない</em></span></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="おきる - to get up" class="popup">起き<em>る</em></span></td><td><span title="おきる - to get up" class="popup">起き<em>ない</em></span></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="でる - to come out" class="popup">出<em>る</em></span></td><td><span title="でる - to come out" class="popup">出<em>ない</em></span></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="かける - to hang" class="popup">掛け<em>る</em></span></td><td><span title="かける - to hang" class="popup">掛け<em>ない</em></span></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="すてる - to throw away" class="popup">捨て<em>る</em></span></td><td><span title="すてる - to throw away" class="popup">捨て<em>ない</em></span></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="しらべる - to investigate" class="popup">調べ<em>る</em></span></td><td><span title="しらべる - to investigate" class="popup">調べ<em>ない</em></span></td></tr>

</table>
</td>


<td rowspan="2">
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
</td>

<td>
<table border="1" cellpadding="5">
<caption>Sample u-verbs</caption>
<tr align="center"><th>Positive</th><th>Negative</th>
<th>ローマ字</th><th>ローマ字 (Neg)</th></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="はなす - to speak" class="popup">話<em>す</em></span></td><td><span title="はなす - to speak" class="popup">話<em>さない</em></span></td>
<td>hanas<em>u</em></td><td>hanas<em>anai</em></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="きく - to hear, to ask" class="popup">聞<em>く</em></span></td><td><span title="きく - to hear, to ask" class="popup">聞<em>かない</em></span></td>
<td>kik<em>u</em></td><td>kik<em>anai</em></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="およぐ - to swim" class="popup">泳<em>ぐ</em></span></td><td><span title="およぐ - to swim" class="popup">泳<em>がない</em></span></td>
<td>oyog<em>u</em></td><td>oyog<em>anai</em></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="あそぶ - to play" class="popup">遊<em>ぶ</em></span></td><td><span title="あそぶ - to play" class="popup">遊<em>ばない</em></span></td>
<td>asob<em>u</em></td><td>asob<em>anai</em></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="まつ - to wait" class="popup">待<em>つ</em></span></td><td><span title="まつ - to wait" class="popup">待<em>たない</em></span></td>
<td>mat<em>u</em></td><td>mat<em>anai</em></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="のむ - to drink" class="popup">飲<em>む</em></span></td><td><span title="のむ - to drink" class="popup">飲<em>まない</em></span></td>
<td>nom<em>u</em></td><td>nom<em>anai</em></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="なおる - to be fixed" class="popup">直<em>る</em></span></td><td><span title="なおる - to be fixed" class="popup">直<em>らない</em></span></td><td>naor<em>u</em></td>
<td>naor<em>anai</em></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="しぬ - to die" class="popup">死<em>ぬ</em></span></td><td><span title="しぬ - to die" class="popup">死<em>なない</em></span></td><td>shin<em>u</em></td>
<td>shin<em>anai</em></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td>＊<span title="かう - to buy" class="popup">買<em><u>う</u></em></span></td><td><span title="かう - to buy" class="popup">買<em><u>わ</u>ない</em></span></td><td>ka<em><u>u</u></em></td>
<td>ka<em><u>wa</u>nai</em></td></tr>

</table>
</td>

<td rowspan="2">
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
</td>


<td valign="top">
<table border="1" cellpadding="5">
<caption>Exception Verbs</caption>
<tr align="center"><th>Positive</th><th>Negative</th></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="する - to do" class="popup">する</span></td><td><span title="する - to do" class="popup">しない</span></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="くる - to come" class="popup">くる</span></td><td><span title="くる - to come" class="popup">こない</span></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td>＊<span title="ある - to exist (inanimate)" class="popup">ある</span></td><td><span title="ある - to exist (inanimate)" class="popup">ない</span></td></tr>

</table>
</td>

</tr>
</table>

＊ = exceptions particular to this conjugation
</center>

<h3>Examples</h3>
Here are some example sentences using the negative form.  To look these words up, use the link labeled "Translate Words in Japanese Text"
from the WWWJDIC or just <a href="http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/cgi-bin/cgiwrap/jwb/wwwjdic?9T">click here</a>.
It will reverse the conjugation and give you the dictionary form. (And even what conjugations were used to boot!)
Here are the example sentences from the last section conjugated to the negative.
<p>（１）　アリスは<em><span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べない</span></em>。- As for Alice, does not eat.
<br />（２）　ジムが<em><span title="あそぶ - to play" class="popup">遊ばない</span></em>。- Jim is the one that does not play.
<br />（３）　ボブも<em><span title="する - to do" class="popup">しない</span></em>。- Bob also does not do.
<br />（４）　<span title="おかね - money" class="popup">お金</span>が<em><span title="ある - to exist (inanimate)" class="popup">ない</span></em>。- There is no money. (lit: As for money, does not exist.)
<br />（５）　<span title="わたし - me, myself, I" class="popup">私</span>は<em><span title="かう - to buy" class="popup">買わない</span></em>。- As for me, not buy.
<br />（６）　<span title="ねこ - cat" class="popup">猫</span>は<em><span title="いる- to exist (animate)" class="popup">いない</span></em>。- There is no cat. (lit: As for cat, does not exist.)
</p>

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<p class="copyright">Copyright &copy; 2003-2007 Tae Kim (taekim.japanese AT gmail.com)</p>
<p>
<a href="http://www.guidetojapanese.org/forum/viewforum.php?id=18">Report a correction or suggestion for this page</a>
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</div>

<br class="break"/>
<h1>Negative Verb Practice Exercises</h1>

<br /><br /><br />

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
<tr><td>
<div class="outline">
<!-- outline menu -->
<center><span class="summary">Outline</span></center>
<ol>
<li><a href="#part1.negverb_ex.html">Vocabulary used in this section</a></li>
<li><a href="#part2.negverb_ex.html">Practice with Negative Verb Conjugations</a></li>

</ol>
</div>
</td></tr>
</table>

<noscript>
<div class="note">
<p><em>Warning!</em>
<br />You do not have javascript enabled. <br />
Sorry, but you need to have javascript enabled to see the answers to these exercises.</p>
</div>
</noscript>

<h2 id="part1.negverb_ex.html">Vocabulary used in this section</h2>
This is the same list of verbs from the <a href="verbs_ex.html#part1.negverb_ex.html">previous practice exercise.</a> We will use the same verbs
from the last exercise to practice conjugating to the negative tense.
<div class="sumbox">
<span class="summary">Kanji</span>
<br />I have listed the kanji you will need for the vocabulary for your convenience. The link will take you to a diagram of the stroke order.
However, it doesn't clearly show the direction (though you can kind of tell by the animation) so you should check with a kanji dictionary if you're not sure.
I recommend practicing the kanji in the context of real words (such as the ones below).
<ol>
<li><a href="http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~jwb/cgi-bin/wwwhalsod.cgi?2544_%B8%AB">見</a> - see</li>
<li><a href="http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~jwb/cgi-bin/wwwhalsod.cgi?3551_%CD%E8">来</a> - come; next</li>
<li><a href="http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~jwb/cgi-bin/wwwhalsod.cgi?0212_%B9%D4">行</a> - go; conduct</li>
<li><a href="http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~jwb/cgi-bin/wwwhalsod.cgi?0130_%B5%A2">帰</a> - go home</li>
<li><a href="http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~jwb/cgi-bin/wwwhalsod.cgi?2075_%BF%A9">食</a> - eat; food</li>
<li><a href="http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~jwb/cgi-bin/wwwhalsod.cgi?1692_%B0%FB">飲</a> - drink</li>
<li><a href="http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~jwb/cgi-bin/wwwhalsod.cgi?2598_%C7%E3">買</a> - buy</li>
<li><a href="http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~jwb/cgi-bin/wwwhalsod.cgi?2196_%C7%E4">売</a> - sell</li>
<li><a href="http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~jwb/cgi-bin/wwwhalsod.cgi?0374_%BB%FD">持</a> - hold</li>
<li><a href="http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~jwb/cgi-bin/wwwhalsod.cgi?0364_%C2%D4">待</a> - wait</li>
<li><a href="http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~jwb/cgi-bin/wwwhalsod.cgi?1541_%C6%C9">読</a> - read</li>
<li><a href="http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~jwb/cgi-bin/wwwhalsod.cgi?2416_%CA%E2">歩</a> - walk</li>
<li><a href="http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~jwb/cgi-bin/wwwhalsod.cgi?2194_%C1%F6">走</a> - run</li>
<li><a href="http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~jwb/cgi-bin/wwwhalsod.cgi?3142_%CD%B7">遊</a> - play</li>
</ol>
</div>


<div class="sumbox">
<span class="summary">Vocabulary</span>
<br />Here is a list of some common verbs you will definitely want to learn at some point.
<ol>
<li>する - to do</li>
<li>しゃべる - to talk; to chat</li>
<li>見る【みる】 - to see</li>
<li>来る【くる】 - to come</li>
<li>行く【いく】 - to go</li>
<li>帰る 【かえる】 - to go home</li>
<li>食べる 【たべる】 - to eat</li>
<li>飲む 【のむ】 - to drink</li>
<li>買う 【かう】 - to buy</li>
<li>売る 【うる】 - to sell</li>
<li>切る 【きる】 - to cut</li>
<li>入る 【はいる】 - to enter</li>
<li>出る 【でる】 - to come out</li>
<li>持つ 【もつ】 - to hold</li>
<li>待つ 【まつ】 - to wait</li>
<li>書く【かく】 - to write</li>
<li>読む 【よむ】 - to read</li>
<li>歩く 【あるく】 - to walk</li>
<li>走る 【はしる】 - to run</li>
<li>遊ぶ 【あそぶ】 - to play</li>
</ol>
</div>


<h2 id="part2.negverb_ex.html">Practice with Negative Verb Conjugations</h2>
We learned how to classify the following verbs in the <a href="verbs_ex.html#part2.negverb_ex.html">previous practice exercise.</a> Now,
we are going to put that knowledge to use by conjugating the same verbs into the negative tense depending on which type of verb it is.
The first answer has been given as an example.

<br /><br />
<div id="exercise1">

<center>
<table class="large" border="1" cellpadding="10">
	<tr align="center">
		<td>verb</td><td>negative tense</td>
	</tr>
	<tr align="center">
		<td>行く</td>
		<td class="answerline">行かない</td>
	</tr>
	<tr align="center">
		<td>出る</td>
		<td class="answerline"><span class="hide">出ない</span></td>
	</tr>
	<tr align="center">
		<td>する</td>
		<td class="answerline"><span class="hide">しない</span></td>	</tr>
	<tr align="center">
		<td>買う</td>
		<td class="answerline"><span class="hide">買わない</span></td>	</tr>
	<tr align="center">
		<td>売る</td>
		<td class="answerline"><span class="hide">売らない</span></td>	</tr>
	<tr align="center">
		<td>食べる</td>
		<td class="answerline"><span class="hide">食べない</span></td>	</tr>
	<tr align="center">
		<td>入る</td>
		<td class="answerline"><span class="hide">入らない</span></td>
	</tr>
	<tr align="center">
		<td>来る</td>
		<td class="answerline"><span class="hide">こない</span></td>
	</tr>
	<tr align="center">
		<td>飲む</td>
		<td class="answerline"><span class="hide">飲まない</span></td>
	</tr>
		<tr align="center">
		<td>しゃべる</td>
		<td class="answerline"><span class="hide">しゃべらない</span></td>
	</tr>
	<tr align="center">
		<td>見る</td>
		<td class="answerline"><span class="hide">見ない</span></td>
	</tr>
	<tr align="center">
		<td>切る</td>
		<td class="answerline"><span class="hide">切らない</span></td>
	</tr>
	<tr align="center">
		<td>帰る</td>
		<td class="answerline"><span class="hide">帰らない</span></td>
	</tr>
	<tr align="center">
		<td>書く</td>
		<td class="answerline"><span class="hide">書かない</span></td>
	</tr>
</table>
</center>

<div class="sumbox" align="center"><a href="javascript:void(0)" onclick="showAll('exercise1');">Show all answers</a>
 | <a href="javascript:void(0)" onclick="hideAll('exercise1');">Hide all answers</a></div>

</div>


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<p class="copyright">Copyright &copy; 2003-2007 Tae Kim (taekim.japanese AT gmail.com)</p>
<p>
<a href="http://www.guidetojapanese.org/forum/viewforum.php?id=18">Report a correction or suggestion for this page</a>
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</div>

<div class="small" style="text-align:right;"><pre>This page has last been revised on 2006/4/18</pre></div>

<br class="break"/>
<h1>It's all in the past</h1>

<br /><br /><br />

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
<tr><td>
<div class="outline">
<!-- outline menu -->
<center><span class="summary">Outline</span></center>
<ol>
<li><a href="#part1.pastverb.html">Changing verbs to the past tense</a></li>
<li><a href="#part2.pastverb.html">Past tense for ru-verbs</a></li>
<li><a href="#part3.pastverb.html">Past tense for u-verbs</a></li>
<li><a href="#part4.pastverb.html">Past-negative tense for all verbs</a></li>
</ol>
</div>
</td></tr>
</table>

<h2 id="part1.pastverb.html">Changing verbs to the past tense</h2>
We will finish defining all the basic properties of verbs by learning how to express the past and past-negative tense of actions.  I will warn you in advance that the
conjugation rules in this section will be the most complex rules you will learn in all of Japanese.  On the one hand, once you have this section nailed, all
other rules of conjugation will seem simple.  On the other hand, you might need to refer back to this section many times before you finally get all
the rules.  You will probably need a great deal of practice until you can become familiar with all the different conjugations.

<h2 id="part2.pastverb.html">Past tense for ru-verbs</h2>
We will start off with the easy ru-verb category.  To change a ru-verb from the dictionary form into the past tense, you simply drop the 「る」 and add 「た」.

<div class="sumbox">
<span class="summary">To change ru-verbs into the past tense</span>
<ul class="plain">
<li>Drop the 「る」 part of the ru-verb and add 「た」</li>
<li>例）<span title="でる - to come out" class="popup">出<em><strike>る</strike></em></span> → <span title="でる - to come out" class="popup">出<em>た</em></span></li>
<li>例）<span title="すてる - to throw away" class="popup">捨て<em><strike>る</strike></em></span> → <span title="すてる - to throw away" class="popup">捨て<em>た</em></span></li>
</ul>
</div>

<h3>Examples</h3>
<p>
（１）　<span title="ごはん - meal" class="popup">ご飯</span>は、<em><span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べた</span></em>。
<br />- As for meal, ate.
</p>
<p>
（２）　<span title="えいが - movie" class="popup">映画</span>は、<span title="ぜんぶ - all" class="popup">全部</span><em><span title="みる - to see" class="popup">見た</span></em>。
<br />- As for movie, saw them all.
</p>

<h2 id="part3.pastverb.html">Past tense for u-verbs</h2>
Changing a u-verb from dictionary form to the past tense is difficult because we must break up u-verbs into four additional categories.  These
four categories depend on the last character of the verb.  The table below illustrates the different sub-categories.
In addition, there is one exception to the rules, which is the verb 「<span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行く</span>」.  I've bundled it with the regular
exception verbs 「<span title="する - to do" class="popup">する</span>」
and 「<span title="くる - to come" class="popup">来る</span>」 even though 「<span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行く</span>」
is a regular u-verb in all other conjugations.

<p />
<center>
<table border="0">
<tr>

<td>
<table border="1" cellpadding="5">
<caption>Past tense conjugations for u-verbs</caption>

<tr><th>Ending</th><th>Non-Past</th><th>changes to...</th><th>Past</th></tr>

<tr align="center">
<td>す</td>
<td><span title="はなす - to speak" class="popup">話<em>す</em></span></td>
<td>す→した</td><td><span title="はなす - to speak" class="popup">話<em>した</em></span></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td>く<br />ぐ</td>
<td><span title="かく - to write" class="popup">書<em>く</em></span><br /><span title="およぐ - to swim" class="popup">泳<em>ぐ</em></span></td>
<td>く→いた<br />ぐ→いだ</td>
<td><span title="かく - to write" class="popup">書<em>いた</em></span><br /><span title="およぐ - to swim" class="popup">泳<em>いだ</em></span></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td>む<br />ぶ<br />ぬ</td>
<td><span title="かむ - to bite" class="popup">噛<em>む</em></span><br /><span title="あそぶ - to play" class="popup">遊<em>ぶ</em></span><br /><span title="しぬ - to die" class="popup">死<em>ぬ</em></span></td>
<td>む→んだ<br />ぶ→んだ<br />ぬ→んだ</td>
<td><span title="かむ - to bite" class="popup">噛<em>んだ</em></span><br /><span title="あそぶ - to play" class="popup">遊<em>んだ</em></span><br /><span title="しぬ - to die" class="popup">死<em>んだ</em></span></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td>る<br />う<br />つ</td>
<td><span title="きる - to cut" class="popup">切<em>る</em></span><br /><span title="かう - to buy" class="popup">買<em>う</em></span><br /><span title="もつ - to hold" class="popup">持<em>つ</em></span></td>
<td>る→った<br />う→った<br />つ→った</td>
<td><span title="きる - to cut" class="popup">切<em>った</em></span><br /><span title="かう - to buy" class="popup">買<em>った</em></span><br /><span title="もつ - to hold" class="popup">持<em>った</em></span></td></tr>

</table>
</td>

<td rowspan="2">
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
</td>

<td valign="top">
<table border="1" cellpadding="5">
<caption>Exceptions</caption>
<tr align="center"><th>Non-Past</th><th>Past</th></tr>
<tr align="center"><td><span title="する - to do" class="popup">する</span></td><td><span title="する - to do" class="popup">し<em>た</em></span></td></tr>
<tr align="center"><td><span title="くる - to come" class="popup">くる</span></td><td><span title="くる - to come" class="popup">き<em>た</em></span></td></tr>
<tr align="center"><td><span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行く</span></td><td><span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行<em>った</em></span>*</td></tr>
</table>
</td>

</tr>
</table>
* exceptions particular to this conjugation
</center>

<h3>Examples</h3>
<p>
（１）　<span title="きょう - today" class="popup">今日</span>は、<em><span title="はしる - to run" class="popup">走った</span></em>。
<br />- As for today, ran.
</p>
<p>
（２）　<span title="ともだち - friend" class="popup">友達</span>が<em><span title="くる - to come" class="popup">来た</span></em>。
<br />- Friend is the one that came.
</p>
<p>
（３）　<span title="わたし - me, myself, I" class="popup">私</span>も<em><span title="あそぶ - to play" class="popup">遊んだ</span></em>。
<br />- I also played.
</p>
<p>
（４）　<span title="べんきょう - study" class="popup">勉強</span>は、<em><span title="する - to do" class="popup">した</span></em>。
<br />- About homework, did it.
</p>

<h2 id="part4.pastverb.html">Past-negative tense for all verbs</h2>
The conjugation rules for the past-negative tense are the same for <i>all</i> verbs. You might have noticed that the negative tense of just about everything always end in 「ない」.
The conjugation rule for the past-negative tense of verbs is pretty much the same as all the other negative tenses that end in 「ない」.
You simply take the negative tense of any verb, remove the 「い」 from the 「ない」 ending, and replace it with 「かった」.

<div class="sumbox">
<span class="summary">To change verbs into the past-negative tense</span>
<ul class="plain">
<li>Change the first verb to the <a href="negverb.html#part2.pastverb.html"><i>negative tense</i></a> and replace the 「い」 with 「かった」</li>
<li>例）<span title="すてる - to throw away" class="popup">捨て<em>る</em></span> → <span title="すてる - to throw away" class="popup">捨てな<em><strike>い</strike></em></span> → <span title="すてる - to throw away" class="popup">捨てな<em>かった</em></span></li>
<li>例）<span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行<em>く</em></span> → <span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行かな<em><strike>い</strike></em></span> → <span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行かな<em>かった</em></span></li>
</ul>
</div>

<h3>Examples</h3>
<p>
（１）　アリスは<span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べな<em>かった</em></span>。
<br />- As for Alice, did not eat.
</p>
<p>
（２）　ジムが<span title="する - to do" class="popup">しな<em>かった</em></span>。
<br />- Jim is the one that did not do.
</p>
<p>
（３）　ボブも<span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行かな<em>かった</em></span>。
<br />- Bob also did not go.
</p>
<p>
（４）　<span title="おかね - money" class="popup">お金</span>が<em><span title="ある - to exist (inanimate)" class="popup">なかった</span></em>。
<br />- There was no money. (lit: As for money, did not exist.)
</p>
<p>
（５）　<span title="わたし - me, myself, I" class="popup">私</span>は<em><span title="かう - to buy" class="popup">買わなかった</span></em>。
<br />- As for me, did not buy.
</p>
<p>
（６）　<span title="ねこ - cat" class="popup">猫</span>は<em><span title="いる- to exist (animate)" class="popup">いなかった</span></em>。
<br />- There was no cat. (lit: As for cat, did not exist.)
</p>

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<p class="copyright">Copyright &copy; 2003-2007 Tae Kim (taekim.japanese AT gmail.com)</p>
<p>
<a href="http://www.guidetojapanese.org/forum/viewforum.php?id=18">Report a correction or suggestion for this page</a>
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</div>

<div class="small" style="text-align:right;"><pre>This page has last been revised on 2007/1/3
</pre>
</div>

<br class="break"/>
<h1>Past Verb Practice Exercises</h1>

<br /><br /><br />

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
<tr><td>
<div class="outline">
<!-- outline menu -->
<center><span class="summary">Outline</span></center>
<ol>
<li><a href="#part1.pastverb_ex.html">Vocabulary used in this section</a></li>
<li><a href="#part2.pastverb_ex.html">Practice with Past Verb Conjugations</a></li>
<li><a href="#part3.pastverb_ex.html">Practice with Past Negative Verb Conjugations</a></li>

</ol>
</div>
</td></tr>
</table>

<noscript>
<div class="note">
<p><em>Warning!</em>
<br />You do not have javascript enabled. <br />
Sorry, but you need to have javascript enabled to see the answers to these exercises.</p>
</div>
</noscript>

<h2 id="part1.pastverb_ex.html">Vocabulary used in this section</h2>
This is the same list of verbs from the <a href="negverb_ex.html#part1.pastverb_ex.html">previous practice exercise</a> with a couple additions. We will use mostly the same verbs
from the last exercise to practice conjugating to the past and the past negative tense.
<div class="sumbox">
<span class="summary">Kanji</span>
<br />I have listed the kanji you will need for the vocabulary for your convenience. The link will take you to a diagram of the stroke order.
However, it doesn't clearly show the direction (though you can kind of tell by the animation) so you should check with a kanji dictionary if you're not sure.
I recommend practicing the kanji in the context of real words (such as the ones below).
<ol>
<li><a href="http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~jwb/cgi-bin/wwwhalsod.cgi?1527_%CF%C3">話</a> - story</li>
<li><a href="http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~jwb/cgi-bin/wwwhalsod.cgi?2544_%B8%AB">見</a> - see</li>
<li><a href="http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~jwb/cgi-bin/wwwhalsod.cgi?3551_%CD%E8">来</a> - come; next</li>
<li><a href="http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~jwb/cgi-bin/wwwhalsod.cgi?0212_%B9%D4">行</a> - go; conduct</li>
<li><a href="http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~jwb/cgi-bin/wwwhalsod.cgi?0130_%B5%A2">帰</a> - go home</li>
<li><a href="http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~jwb/cgi-bin/wwwhalsod.cgi?2075_%BF%A9">食</a> - eat; food</li>
<li><a href="http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~jwb/cgi-bin/wwwhalsod.cgi?1692_%B0%FB">飲</a> - drink</li>
<li><a href="http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~jwb/cgi-bin/wwwhalsod.cgi?2598_%C7%E3">買</a> - buy</li>
<li><a href="http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~jwb/cgi-bin/wwwhalsod.cgi?2196_%C7%E4">売</a> - sell</li>
<li><a href="http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~jwb/cgi-bin/wwwhalsod.cgi?0374_%BB%FD">持</a> - hold</li>
<li><a href="http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~jwb/cgi-bin/wwwhalsod.cgi?0364_%C2%D4">待</a> - wait</li>
<li><a href="http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~jwb/cgi-bin/wwwhalsod.cgi?1541_%C6%C9">読</a> - read</li>
<li><a href="http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~jwb/cgi-bin/wwwhalsod.cgi?2416_%CA%E2">歩</a> - walk</li>
<li><a href="http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~jwb/cgi-bin/wwwhalsod.cgi?2194_%C1%F6">走</a> - run</li>
<li><a href="http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~jwb/cgi-bin/wwwhalsod.cgi?3142_%CD%B7">遊</a> - play</li>
<li><a href="http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~jwb/cgi-bin/wwwhalsod.cgi?0327_%B1%CB">泳</a> - swim</li>
<li><a href="http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~jwb/cgi-bin/wwwhalsod.cgi?3521_%BB%E0">死</a> - death</li>
</ol>
</div>


<div class="sumbox">
<span class="summary">Vocabulary</span>
<br />Here is a list of some common verbs you will definitely want to learn at some point.
<ol>
<li>する - to do</li>
<li>しゃべる - to talk; to chat</li>
<li>話す【はなす】 - to talk</li>
<li>見る【みる】 - to see</li>
<li>来る【くる】 - to come</li>
<li>行く【いく】 - to go</li>
<li>帰る 【かえる】 - to go home</li>
<li>食べる 【たべる】 - to eat</li>
<li>飲む 【のむ】 - to drink</li>
<li>買う 【かう】 - to buy</li>
<li>売る 【うる】 - to sell</li>
<li>切る 【きる】 - to cut</li>
<li>入る 【はいる】 - to enter</li>
<li>出る 【でる】 - to come out</li>
<li>持つ 【もつ】 - to hold</li>
<li>待つ 【まつ】 - to wait</li>
<li>書く【かく】 - to write</li>
<li>読む 【よむ】 - to read</li>
<li>歩く 【あるく】 - to walk</li>
<li>走る 【はしる】 - to run</li>
<li>遊ぶ 【あそぶ】 - to play</li>
<li>泳ぐ 【およぐ】 - to swim</li>
<li>死ぬ 【しぬ】 - to die</li>
</ol>
</div>


<h2 id="part2.pastverb_ex.html">Practice with Past Verb Conjugations</h2>
We learned how to classify the following verbs in the first <a href="verbs_ex.html#part2.pastverb_ex.html">verb practice exercise.</a> Now,
we are going to put that knowledge to use by conjugating the same verbs into the past tense depending on which type of verb it is.
The first answer has been given as an example.

<br /><br />
<div id="exercise1">

<center>
<table class="large" border="1" cellpadding="10">
	<tr align="center">
		<td>verb</td><td>past tense</td>
	</tr>
	<tr align="center">
		<td>出る</td>
		<td class="answerline">出た</td>
	</tr>
	<tr align="center">
		<td>行く</td>
		<td class="answerline"><span class="hide">行った</span></td>
	</tr>
	<tr align="center">
		<td>する</td>
		<td class="answerline"><span class="hide">した</span></td>	</tr>
	<tr align="center">
		<td>買う</td>
		<td class="answerline"><span class="hide">買った</span></td>	</tr>
	<tr align="center">
		<td>売る</td>
		<td class="answerline"><span class="hide">売った</span></td>	</tr>
	<tr align="center">
		<td>食べる</td>
		<td class="answerline"><span class="hide">食べた</span></td>	</tr>
	<tr align="center">
		<td>入る</td>
		<td class="answerline"><span class="hide">入った</span></td>
	</tr>
	<tr align="center">
		<td>来る</td>
		<td class="answerline"><span class="hide">きた</span></td>
	</tr>
	<tr align="center">
		<td>飲む</td>
		<td class="answerline"><span class="hide">飲んだ</span></td>
	</tr>
		<tr align="center">
		<td>しゃべる</td>
		<td class="answerline"><span class="hide">しゃべった</span></td>
	</tr>
	<tr align="center">
		<td>見る</td>
		<td class="answerline"><span class="hide">見た</span></td>
	</tr>
	<tr align="center">
		<td>切る</td>
		<td class="answerline"><span class="hide">切った</span></td>
	</tr>
	<tr align="center">
		<td>帰る</td>
		<td class="answerline"><span class="hide">帰った</span></td>
	</tr>
	<tr align="center">
		<td>書く</td>
		<td class="answerline"><span class="hide">書いた</span></td>
	</tr>
	<tr align="center">
		<td>待つ</td>
		<td class="answerline"><span class="hide">待った</span></td>
	</tr>
	<tr align="center">
		<td>話す</td>
		<td class="answerline"><span class="hide">話した</span></td>
	</tr>
	<tr align="center">
		<td>泳ぐ</td>
		<td class="answerline"><span class="hide">泳いだ</span></td>
	</tr>
	<tr align="center">
		<td>死ぬ</td>
		<td class="answerline"><span class="hide">死んだ</span></td>
	</tr>
</table>
</center>

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</div>

<h2 id="part3.pastverb_ex.html">Practice with Past Negative Verb Conjugations</h2>
Now, we are going to do the same thing for the past negative verb conjugations.

<br /><br />
<div id="exercise2">

<center>
<table class="large" border="1" cellpadding="10">
	<tr align="center">
		<td>verb</td><td>past negative tense</td>
	</tr>
	<tr align="center">
		<td>出る</td>
		<td class="answerline">出なかった</td>
	</tr>
	<tr align="center">
		<td>行く</td>
		<td class="answerline"><span class="hide">行かなかった</span></td>
	</tr>
	<tr align="center">
		<td>する</td>
		<td class="answerline"><span class="hide">しなかった</span></td>	</tr>
	<tr align="center">
		<td>買う</td>
		<td class="answerline"><span class="hide">買わなかった</span></td>	</tr>
	<tr align="center">
		<td>売る</td>
		<td class="answerline"><span class="hide">売らなかった</span></td>	</tr>
	<tr align="center">
		<td>食べる</td>
		<td class="answerline"><span class="hide">食べなかった</span></td>	</tr>
	<tr align="center">
		<td>入る</td>
		<td class="answerline"><span class="hide">入らなかった</span></td>
	</tr>
	<tr align="center">
		<td>来る</td>
		<td class="answerline"><span class="hide">こなかった</span></td>
	</tr>
	<tr align="center">
		<td>飲む</td>
		<td class="answerline"><span class="hide">飲まなかった</span></td>
	</tr>
		<tr align="center">
		<td>しゃべる</td>
		<td class="answerline"><span class="hide">しゃべらなかった</span></td>
	</tr>
	<tr align="center">
		<td>見る</td>
		<td class="answerline"><span class="hide">見なかった</span></td>
	</tr>
	<tr align="center">
		<td>切る</td>
		<td class="answerline"><span class="hide">切らなかった</span></td>
	</tr>
	<tr align="center">
		<td>帰る</td>
		<td class="answerline"><span class="hide">帰らなかった</span></td>
	</tr>
	<tr align="center">
		<td>書く</td>
		<td class="answerline"><span class="hide">書かなかった</span></td>
	</tr>
	<tr align="center">
		<td>待つ</td>
		<td class="answerline"><span class="hide">待たなかった</span></td>
	</tr>
	<tr align="center">
		<td>話す</td>
		<td class="answerline"><span class="hide">話さなかった</span></td>
	</tr>
	<tr align="center">
		<td>泳ぐ</td>
		<td class="answerline"><span class="hide">泳がなかった</span></td>
	</tr>
	<tr align="center">
		<td>死ぬ</td>
		<td class="answerline"><span class="hide">死ななかった</span></td>
	</tr>
</table>
</center>

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<p class="copyright">Copyright &copy; 2003-2007 Tae Kim (taekim.japanese AT gmail.com)</p>
<p>
<a href="http://www.guidetojapanese.org/forum/viewforum.php?id=18">Report a correction or suggestion for this page</a>
</p>
</div>

<div class="small" style="text-align:right;"><pre>This page has last been revised on 2006/4/28</pre></div>

<br class="break"/>
<h1>Particles Reloaded</h1>

<br /><br /><br />

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
<tr><td>
<div class="outline">
<!-- outline menu -->
<center><span class="summary">Outline</span></center>
<ol>
<li><a href="#part1.particles2.html">Particles used with verbs</a></li>
<li><a href="#part2.particles2.html">The direct object 「を」 particle</a></li>
<li><a href="#part3.particles2.html">The target 「に」 particle</a></li>
<li><a href="#part4.particles2.html">The directional 「へ」 particle</a></li>
<li><a href="#part5.particles2.html">The contextual  「で」 particle</a></li>
<li><a href="#part6.particles2.html">When location is the topic</a></li>
<li><a href="#part7.particles2.html">When direct object is the topic</a></li>
</ol>
</div>
</td></tr>
</table>

<h2 id="part1.particles2.html">Particles used with verbs</h2>
<p>
In this section, we will learn some new particles essential for using verbs.  We will learn how to specify the direct object of a verb and
the location where a verb takes place whether it's physical or abstract.
</p>

<h2 id="part2.particles2.html">The direct object 「を」 particle</h2>
<p>
The first particle we will learn is the object particle because it is a very straightforward particle.  The 「を」 character is attached to
the end of a word to signify that that word is the direct object of the verb.  This character is essentially never used anywhere else.  That is why the katakana equivalent 「ヲ」 is almost never used since particles are always written in hiragana.  The 「を」 character, while technically pronounced
as /wo/  essentially sounds like /o/ in real speech.  Here are some examples of the direct object particle in action.
</p>

<h3>Examples</h3>
<p>
（１）　<span title="さかな - fish" class="popup">魚</span><em>を</em><span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べる</span>。
<br />- Eat fish.
</p>

</p>
（２）　<span title="ジュース - juice" class="popup">ジュース</span><em>を</em><span title="のむ - to drink" class="popup">飲んだ</span>。
<br />- Drank juice.
</p>

<p>Unlike the direct object we're familiar with in English, places can also be the direct object of motion verbs such as 「<span title="あるく - to walk" class="popup">歩く</span>」 and 「<span title="はしる - to run" class="popup">走る</span>」.
Since the motion verb is done <i>to</i> the location, the concept of direct object is the same in Japanese. However, as you can see by the next examples, it often translates to something different in English due to the slight difference of the concept of direct object.
</p>

<p>
（３）　<span title="まち - town" class="popup">街</span><em>を</em><span title="ぶらぶら - sway to and fro; aimlessly" class="popup">ぶらぶら</span><span title="あるく - to walk" class="popup">歩く</span>。
<br />- Aimlessly walk through town. (Lit: Aimlessly walk town)
</p>
<p>
（４）　<span title="こうそく - high-speed" class="popup">高速</span><span title="どうろ - route" class="popup">道路</span><em>を</em><span title="はしる - to run" class="popup">走る</span>。
<br />- Run through expressway. (Lit: Run expressway)
</p>

<p>When you use 「<span title="する - to do" class="popup">する</span>」 with a noun, the 「を」 particle is optional and you can treat the whole [noun+<span title="する - to do" class="popup">する</span>] as one verb.
</p>

<p>
（５）　<span title="まいにち - everyday" class="popup">毎日</span>、<span title="にほんご - Japanese language" class="popup">日本語</span>を<em><span title="べんきょう - study" class="popup">勉強</span><span title="する - to do" class="popup">する</span></em>。
<br />- Study Japanese everyday.
</p>
<p>
（６）　<span title="メールアドレス - email address" class="popup">メールアドレス</span>を<em><span title="とうろく - register" class="popup">登録</span><span title="する - to do" class="popup">した</span></em>。
<br />- Registered email address.
</p>

<h2 id="part3.particles2.html">The target 「に」 particle</h2>
<p>
The 「に」 particle can specify a target of a verb.  This is different from the 「を」 particle in which the verb does something <i>to</i> the direct object. With the 「に」 particle, the verb does something <i>toward</i> the word associated with the 「に」 particle.  For example, the target of any motion verb is specified by the 「に」 particle.
</p>

<h3>Examples</h3>

<p>（１）　ボブは<span title="にほん - Japan" class="popup">日本</span><em>に</em><span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行った</span>。
<br />- Bob went to Japan.
</p>
<p>
（２）　<span title="いえ - house; うち - home" class="popup">家</span><em>に</em><span title="かえる - to go home" class="popup">帰らない</span>。
<br />- Not go back home.
</p>
<p>
（３）　<span title="へや - room" class="popup">部屋</span><em>に</em><span title="くる - to come" class="popup">くる</span>。
<br />- Come to room.
</p>

<p>
As you can see in example （３）, the target particle always targets "to" rather than "from". If you wanted to say, "come from" for example, you
would need to use 「から」, which means "from". If you used 「に」, it would instead mean "come <i>to</i>".  「から」 is also often paired
with 「まで」, which means "up to".</p>

<p>
（４）　アリスは、<span title="アメリカ - America" class="popup">アメリカ</span><em>から</em><span title="くる - to come" class="popup">きた</span>。
<br />- Alice came from America.
</p>
<p>
（５）　<span title="しゅくだい - homework" class="popup">宿題</span>を<span title="きょう - today" class="popup">今日</span><em>から</em><span title="あした - tomorrow" class="popup">明日</span><em>まで</em><span title="する - to do" class="popup">する</span>。
<br />- Will do homework from today to tomorrow.
</p>

<p>
The idea of a target in Japanese is very general and is not restricted to motion verbs.  For example, the location of an object is defined as the
target of the verb for existence （<span title="ある - to exist (inanimate)" class="popup">ある</span> and
<span title="いる - to exist (animate)" class="popup">いる</span>）.  Time is also a common target.  Here are some examples of non-motion verbs and their targets
</p>

<p>（６）　<span title="ねこ - cat" class="popup">猫</span>は<span title="へや - room" class="popup">部屋</span><em>に</em><span title="いる - to exist (animate)" class="popup">いる</span>。
<br />- Cat is in room.
</p>
<p>
（７）　<span title="いす - chair" class="popup">椅子</span>が<span title="だいどころ - kitchen" class="popup">台所</span><em>に</em><span title="ある - to exist (inanimate)" class="popup">あった</span>。
<br />- Chair was in the kitchen.
</p>
<p>
（８）　<span title="いい - good" class="popup">いい</span><span title="ともだち - friend" class="popup">友達</span><em>に</em><span title="あう - to meet" class="popup">会った</span>。
<br />- Met good friend.
</p>
<p>
（９）　ジムは<span title="いしゃ - doctor" class="popup">医者</span><em>に</em><span title="なる - to become" class="popup">なる</span>。
<br />- Jim will become doctor.
</p>
<p>
（１０）　<span title="せんしゅう - last week" class="popup">先週</span><em>に</em><span title="としょかん - library" class="popup">図書館</span><em>に</em><span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行った</span>。
<br />- Went to library last week.
</p>
<p>
Note: Don't forget to use 「<span title="ある - to exist (inanimate)" class="popup">ある</span>」 for inanimate objects such as the chair and 「<span title="いる - to exist (animate)" class="popup">いる</span>」 for animate objects such as the cat.
</p>

<p>
Will the 「に」 particle is not always required to indicate time, there is a slight difference in meaning between using the target particle and not using anything at all. In the following examples, the target particle makes the date a specific target emphasizing that the friend will go to Japan at that time.  Without the particle, there is no
special emphasis.

</p>
<p>
（１１）　<span title="ともだち - friend" class="popup">友達</span>は、<span title="らいねん - next year" class="popup">来年</span>、<span title="にほん - Japan" class="popup">日本</span>に<span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行く</span>。
<br />- Next year, friend go to Japan.
</p>
<p>
（１２）　<span title="ともだち - friend" class="popup">友達</span>は、<span title="らいねん - next year" class="popup">来年</span><em>に</em><span title="にほん - Japan" class="popup">日本</span>に<span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行く</span>。
<br />- Friend go to Japan next year.
</p>

<h2 id="part4.particles2.html">The directional 「へ」 particle</h2>
<p>
While 「へ」 is normally pronounced /he/, when it is being used as a particle, it is always pronounced /e/ （え）.  The primary difference between the 「に」 and 「へ」 particle is that 「に」 goes <i>to</i> a target as the final, intended destination (both physical or abstract). The 「へ」 particle, on the other hand, is used to express the fact that one is setting out towards <i>the direction</i> of the target. As a result, it is only used with directional motion verbs. It also does not guarantee whether the target is the final intended destination, only that one is heading towards that direction. In other words, the 「に」 particle sticks to the destination while the 「へ」 particle is fuzzy about where one is ultimately headed.
For example, if we choose to replace 「に」 with 「へ」 in the first three examples of the previous section, the nuance changes slightly.
</p>

<h3>Examples</h3>
<p>（１）　ボブは<span title="にほん - Japan" class="popup">日本</span><em>へ</em><span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行った</span>。
<br />- Bob <em>headed towards</em> Japan.
</p>
<p>（２）　<span title="いえ - house; うち - home" class="popup">家</span><em>へ</em><span title="かえる - to go home" class="popup">帰らない</span>。
<br />- Not go home <em>toward</em> house.
</p>
<p>（３）　<span title="へや - room" class="popup">部屋</span><em>へ</em><span title="くる - to come" class="popup">くる</span>。
<br />- Come <em>towards</em> room.
</p>

<p>Note that we cannot use the 「へ」 particle with verbs that have no physical direction. For example, the following is incorrect.
</p>
<p>
（誤）　<span title="いしゃ - doctor" class="popup">医者</span><em><strike>へ</strike></em><span title="なる - to become" class="popup">なる</span>。
<br />- （Grammatically incorrect version of 「<span title="いしゃ - doctor" class="popup">医者</span>に<span title="なる - to become" class="popup">なる</span>」.）
</p>
<p>
This does not mean to say that 「へ」 cannot set out towards an
abstract concept.  In fact, because of the fuzzy directional meaning of this particle, the 「へ」 particle can also be used to talk about setting out towards certain future goals or expectations.
</p>
<p>
（４）　<span title="かち - victory" class="popup">勝ち</span><em>へ</em><span title="むかう - to face; to go towards" class="popup">向かう</span>。
<br />- Go towards victory.
</p>

<h2 id="part5.particles2.html">The contextual 「で」 particle</h2>
<p>
The 「で」 particle will allow us to specify the context in which the action is performed.  For example, if a person ate a fish, where did he eat it?
If a person went to school, by what means did she go?  With what will you eat the soup?  All of these questions can be answered with the
「で」 particle.  Here are some examples.
</p>

<h3>Examples</h3>
<p>（１）　<span title="えいがかん - movie theatre" class="popup">映画館</span><em>で</em><span title="みる - to see" class="popup">見た</span>。
<br />- Saw at movie theater.
</p>
<p>
（２）　<span title="バス - bus" class="popup">バス</span><em>で</em><span title="かえる - to go home" class="popup">帰る</span>。
<br />- Go home by bus.
</p>
<p>
（３）　<span title="レストラン - restaurant" class="popup">レストラン</span><em>で</em><span title="ひるごはん - lunch" class="popup">昼ご飯</span>を<span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べた</span>。
<br />- Ate lunch at restaurant.
</p>

<p>It may help to think of 「で」 as meaning "by way of".  This way, the same meaning will kind of translate into what the sentence means. The
examples will then read: "Saw by way of movie theater", "Go home by way of bus", and "Ate lunch by way of restaurant."
</p>


<h3>Using 「で」 with 「<span title="なに - what" class="popup">何</span>」</h3>
The word for "what" （<span title="なに - what" class="popup">何</span>） is quite annoying because while it's usually read as 「なに」, sometimes it is read as
「なん」 depending on how it's used.  And since it's always written in
Kanji, you can't tell which it is.  I would suggest sticking with 「なに」 until someone corrects you for when it should be 「なん」.  With the 「で」 particle, it is
read as 「なに」 as well. (Hold the mouse cursor over the word to check the reading.)
</p>
<p>
（４）　<span title="なに - what" class="popup">何</span><em>で</em><span title="くる - to come" class="popup">きた</span>？
<br />- Came by the way of what?
</p>
<p>
（５）　<span title="バス - bus" class="popup">バス</span><em>で</em><span title="くる - to come" class="popup">きた</span>。
<br />- Came by the way of bus.

<p>Here's the confusing part.  There is a colloquial version of the word "why" that is used much more often than the less colloquial version 「<span title="どうして - why" class="popup">どうして</span>」
or the more forceful 「<span title="なぜ - why" class="popup">なぜ</span>」.
It is also written as 「<span title="なんで - why" class="popup">何で</span>」 but it is read as 「なんで」. This is a completely separate word and has nothing to do with the 「で」 particle.
</p>
<p>]
（１）　<em><span title="なんで - why" class="popup">何で</span></em><span title="くる - to come" class="popup">きた</span>？
<br />- Why did you come?
</p>
<p>（２）　<span title="ひま -  having nothing to do" class="popup">暇</span>だから。
<br />- Because I am free (as in have nothing to do).
</p>

<p>The 「から」 here meaning "because" is different from the 「から」 we just learned and will be covered
later in the <a href="compound.html#part4.particles2.html">compound sentence</a> section.  Basically the point is that the two sentences,
while written the same way, is read differently and mean completely different things.
Don't worry. This causes less confusion than you think because 95% of the time, the
latter is used rather than the former.  And even when 「なにで」 is intended, the context will leave no mistake on which one is being used.  Even in this short
example snippet, you can tell which it is by looking at the answer to the question.
</p>

<h2 id="part6.particles2.html">When location is the topic</h2>
There are times when the location of an action is also the topic of a sentence.  You can attach the topic particle （「は」 and 「も」） to the three
particles that indicate location （「に」、「へ」、「で」） when the location is the topic.  We'll see how location might become the topic in the following examples.

<h3>Example 1</h3>
<p>
ボブ：　<span title="がっこう - school" class="popup">学校</span>に<span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行った</span>？
<br />- [Did you] go to school?
</p>
<p>
アリス：　<span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行かなかった</span>。
<br />- Didn't go.
</p>
<p>
ボブ：　<span title="としょかん - library" class="popup">図書館</span><em>には</em>？
<br />- What about library?
</p>
<p>
アリス：　<span title="としょかん - library" class="popup">図書館</span><em>にも</em><span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行かなかった</span>。
<br />- Also didn't go to library.
</p>
<p>
In this example, Bob brings up a new topic (library) and so the location becomes the topic.  The sentence is actually an abbreviated version of
「<span title="としょかん - library" class="popup">図書館</span>には<span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行った</span>？」 which you can ascertain from the context.
</p>

<h3>Example 2</h3>
<p>
ボブ：　<span title="どこ - where" class="popup">どこ</span>で<span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べる</span>？
<br />- Eat where?
</p>
<p>
アリス：　<span title="イタリア - Italy" class="popup">イタリア</span><span title="レストラン - restaurant" class="popup">レストラン</span><em>では</em><span title="どう - how" class="popup">どう</span>？
<br />- How about Italian restaurant?
</p>
<p>
Bob asks, "Where shall we eat?" and Alice suggests an Italian restaurant.  A sentence like, "How about..." usually brings up a new topic because
the person is suggesting something new.  In this case, the location (restaurant) is being suggested so it becomes the topic.
</p>

<h2 id="part7.particles2.html">When direct object is the topic</h2>
<p>The direct object particle is different from particles related to location in that you cannot use any other particles at the same time.  For example,
going by the previous section, you might have guessed that you can say 「をは」 to express a direct object that is also the topic but this is not the
case.  A topic can be a direct object without using the 「を」 particle.  In fact, putting the 「を」 particle in will make it wrong.
</p>
<h3>Examples</h3>
<p>
（１）　<span title="にほんご - Japanese language" class="popup">日本語</span><em>を</em><span title="ならう - to learn" class="popup">習う</span>。
<br />- Learn Japanese.
</p>
<p>
（２）　<span title="にほんご - Japanese language" class="popup">日本語</span><em>は</em>、<span title="ならう - to learn" class="popup">習う</span>。
<br />- About Japanese, (will) learn it.
</p>

<p>Please take care to not make this mistake.</p>
<p>（誤）　<span title="にほんご - Japanese language" class="popup">日本語</span><em><strike>をは</strike></em>、<span title="ならう - to learn" class="popup">習う</span>。
<br />- [This is incorrect.]
</p>

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<p>
<a href="http://www.guidetojapanese.org/forum/viewforum.php?id=18">Report a correction or suggestion for this page</a>
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<div class="small" style="text-align:right;"><pre>This page has last been revised on 2007/3/27</pre>
</div>

<br class="break"/>
<h1>Transitive, not Transvestite!</h1>

<br /><br /><br />

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
<tr><td>
<div class="outline">
<!-- outline menu -->
<center><span class="summary">Outline</span></center>
<ol>
<li><a href="#part1.transtype.html">Transitive and Intransitive Verbs</a></li>
<li><a href="#part2.transtype.html">Pay attention to particles!</a></li>
</ol>
</div>
</td></tr>
</table>

<h2 id="part1.transtype.html">Transitive and Intransitive Verbs</h2>
In Japanese, sometimes there are two types of the same verb often referred to as <i>transitive</i> and <i>intransitive verbs</i>.  The difference between the two is that
one verb is an action done by an active agent while the other is something that occurs without a direct agent.  In English, this is sometimes
expressed with the same verb, such as: "The ball dropped" vs "I dropped the ball" but in Japanese it becomes
「<span title="ボール - ball" class="popup">ボール</span>が<span title="おちる - to be dropped" class="popup">落<em>ちた</em></span>」 vs 「<span title="ボール - ball" class="popup">ボール</span>を<span title="おとす - to drop" class="popup">落<em>とした</em></span>」.
Sometimes, the verbs changes when translated into English such as "To put it in the box" (<span title="はこ - box" class="popup">箱</span>に<span title="いれる - to insert" class="popup">入れる</span>） vs "To enter the box" （<span title="はこ - box" class="popup">箱</span>に<span title="はいる - to enter" class="popup">入る</span>）
but this is only from the differences in the languages.  If you think in Japanese, intransitive and transitive verbs have the same meaning except that one indicates
that someone had a direct hand in the action (direct object) while the other does not. While knowing the
terminology is not important, it is important to know which is which in order to use the correct particle for the correct verb.

<p>Since the basic
meaning and the kanji is the same, you can learn two verbs for the price of just one kanji!
Let's look at a sample list of intransitive and transitive verbs.
</p>

<p />
<center>
<table border="1" cellpadding="5">
<caption>Transitive and Intransitive Verbs</caption>
<tr align="center"><th colspan="2">Transitive</th><th colspan="2">Intransitive</th></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="おとす - to drop" class="popup">落とす</span></td><td>to drop</td><td><span title="おちる - to fall" class="popup">落ちる</span></td><td>to fall</td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="だす - to take out" class="popup">出す</span></td><td>to take out</td><td><span title="でる - to come out" class="popup">出る</span></td><td>to come out; to leave</td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="いれる - to insert" class="popup">入れる</span></td><td>to insert</td><td><span title="はいる - to enter" class="popup">入る</span></td><td>to enter</td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="あける - to open" class="popup">開ける</span></td><td>to open</td><td><span title="あく - to be opened" class="popup">開く</span></td><td>to be opened</td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="しめる - to close" class="popup">閉める</span></td><td>to close</td><td><span title="しまる - to be closed" class="popup">閉まる</span></td><td>to be closed</td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="つける - to attach" class="popup">付ける</span></td><td>to attach</td><td><span title="つく - to be attached" class="popup">付く</span></td><td>to be attached</td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="けす - to erase" class="popup">消す</span></td><td>to erase</td><td><span title="きえる - to disappear" class="popup">消える</span></td><td>to disappear</td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="ぬく - to extract" class="popup">抜く</span></td><td>to extract</td><td><span title="ぬける - to be extracted" class="popup">抜ける</span></td><td>to be extracted</td></tr>
</table>
</center>

<h2 id="part2.transtype.html">Pay attention to particles!</h2>
The important lesson to take away here is to learn how to use the correct particle for the correct type of verb. It might be difficult at first to grasp which is which when learning new verbs or whether there even is a transitive/intransitive distinction. The good news is that the <a href="http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~jwb/wwwjdic.html">WWWJDIC</a> now indicates whether a verb is transitive (vt) or intransitive (vi) when the distinction applies. However, I have not tested how extensive the coverage is so I recommend looking at examples sentences from either the <a href="http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~jwb/wwwjdic.html">WWWJDIC</a> or <a href="http://dic.yahoo.co.jp/">Yahoo!辞書</a>. For example, looking at example sentences for 「<span title="つける - to attach" class="popup">付ける</span>」 from the <a href="http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~jwb/cgi-bin/wwwjdic.cgi?1Q%C9%D5%A4%B1%A4%EB_1_">WWWJDIC</a> or <a href="http://dic.yahoo.co.jp/dsearch?enc=UTF-8&p=%E3%81%A4%E3%81%91%E3%82%8B&stype=0&dtype=3">Yahoo!辞書</a>, you can see that it is a transitive verb from the use of the 「を」 particle.

<h3>Examples</h3>

<p>（１）　<span title="わたし - me, myself, I" class="popup">私</span>が<span title="でんき - electricity, (electric) light" class="popup">電気</span><em>を</em><span title="つける - to attach" class="popup">付けた</span>。- I am the one that turned on the lights.
<br />（２）　<span title="でんき - electricity, (electric) light" class="popup">電気</span><em>が</em><span title="つく - to be attached" class="popup">付いた</span>。- The lights turned on.
<br />（３）　<span title="でんき - electricity, (electric) light" class="popup">電気</span><em>を</em><span title="けす - to erase" class="popup">消す</span>。- Turn off the lights.
<br />（４）　<span title="でんき - electricity, (electric) light" class="popup">電気</span><em>が</em><span title="きえる - to disappear" class="popup">消える</span>。- Lights turn off.
<br />（５）　<span title="だれ - who" class="popup">誰</span>が<span title="まど - window" class="popup">窓</span><em>を</em><span title="あける - to open" class="popup">開けた</span>？- Who opened the window?
<br />（６）　<span title="まど - window" class="popup">窓</span><em>が</em><span title="どうして - why" class="popup">どうして</span><span title="あく - to be opened" class="popup">開いた</span>？- Why has the window opened?
</p>

<p>The important thing to remember is that intransitive verbs <i>cannot</i> have a direct object because there is no direct acting agent.
The following sentences are grammatically incorrect.
<br />
<br />（誤）　<span title="でんき - electricity, (electric) light" class="popup">電気</span><em><strike>を</strike></em><span title="つく - to be attached" class="popup">付いた</span>。- （「を」 should be replaced with 「が」 or 「は」）
<br />（誤）　<span title="でんき - electricity, (electric) light" class="popup">電気</span><em><strike>を</strike></em><span title="きえる - to disappear" class="popup">消える</span>。- （「を」 should be replaced with 「が」 or 「は」）
<br />（誤）　<span title="どうして - why" class="popup">どうして</span><span title="まど - window" class="popup">窓</span><em><strike>を</strike></em><span title="あく - to be opened" class="popup">開いた</span>？- （「を」 should be replaced with 「が」 or 「は」）
</p>

<p>
The only time you can use the 「を」 particle for intransitive verbs is when a location is the direct object of a motion verb as briefly described in the <a href="particles2.html#part2.transtype.html">previous section</a>.
<p>（１）　<span title="へや - room" class="popup">部屋</span><em>を</em><span title="でる - to come out; to leave" class="popup">出た</span>。- I left room.
</p>

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<p class="copyright">Copyright &copy; 2003-2007 Tae Kim (taekim.japanese AT gmail.com)</p>
<p>
<a href="http://www.guidetojapanese.org/forum/viewforum.php?id=18">Report a correction or suggestion for this page</a>
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<div class="small" style="text-align:right;"><pre>This page has last been revised on 2006/12/1</pre></div>

<br class="break"/>
<h1>Subordinate clauses? My kitten has those.</h1>

<br /><br /><br />

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
<tr><td>
<div class="outline">
<!-- outline menu -->
<center><span class="summary">Outline</span></center>
<ol>
<li><a href="#part1.subclause.html">Treating verbs and state-of-being like adjectives</a></li>
<li><a href="#part2.subclause.html">Using state-of-being subclauses as adjectives</a></li>
<li><a href="#part3.subclause.html">Using subordinate verb clauses as adjectives</a></li>
<li><a href="#part4.subclause.html">Japanese Sentence Order</a></li>
</ol>
</div>
</td></tr>
</table>


<h2 id="part1.subclause.html">Treating verbs and state-of-being like adjectives</h2>
Have you noticed how, many forms of verbs and the state-of-being conjugate in a similar manner to i-adjectives?  Well, that is because, in a sense,
they are adjectives.  For example, consider the sentence: "The person who did not eat went to bank."  The "did not eat" describes the person and
in Japanese, you can directly modify the noun 'person' with the clause 'did not eat' just like a regular adjective.  This very simple realization will
allow us to modify a noun with any arbitrary verb phrase!

<h2 id="part2.subclause.html">Using state-of-being subclauses as adjectives</h2>
The negative, past, and negative past conjugations of nouns can be used just like adjectives to directly
modify nouns.  However, we <u>cannot</u> do this with the plain non-past state-of-being using 「だ」.  (I told you this was a pain in the butt.)
The language has particles for this purpose, which will be covered in the <a href="particles3.html#part4.subclause.html"><i>next section</i></a>.

<p />
<center>
<table class="note">
<tr><td><strong><b>You cannot use 「だ」 to directly modify a noun with a noun
<br />like you can with 「だった」、「じゃない」、and 「じゃなかった」.</b></strong></td></tr>
</table>
</center>

<p>
You can, however, have a string of nouns placed together when they're not meant to modify each other.  For example, in a phrase such as
"International Education Center" you can see that it is just a string of nouns without any grammatical modifications between them.  It's not an
"Education Center that is International" or a "Center for International Education", etc., it's just "International Education Center".
In Japanese, you can express this as simply 「<span title="こくさい - international" class="popup">国際</span><span title="きょういく - education" class="popup">教育</span><span title="センタ - center" class="popup">センタ</span>」 (or 「<span title="センター - center" class="popup">センター</span>」).  You will see this chaining of nouns in many combinations.
Sometimes a certain
combination is so commonly used that it has almost become a separate word and is even listed as a separate entry in some dictionaries.
Some examples include: 「<span title="とうじょうじんぶつ - cast of characters" class="popup">登場人物</span>」、「<span title="たちいりきんし - no trespassing" class="popup">立入禁止</span>」、or 「<span title="つうきんてあて - commuting allowance" class="popup">通勤手当</span>」.  If you have difficulties in figuring out where to separate the
words, you can paste them into the WWWJDICs <a href="http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/cgi-bin/cgiwrap/jwb/wwwjdic?9T">Translate Words in Japanese Text</a>
function and it'll parse the words for you (most of the time).
</p>


<h3>Examples</h3>
Here are some examples of direct noun modifications with a <i>conjugated</i> noun clause.  The noun clause has been highlighted.
<p>
（１）　<em><span title="がくせい - student" class="popup">学生</span>じゃない</em><span title="ひと - person" class="popup">人</span>は、<span title="がっこう - school" class="popup">学校</span>に<span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行かない</span>。
<br />- Person who is not student do not go to school.
</p>

<p>
（２）　<em><span title="こども - child" class="popup">子供</span>だった</em>アリスが<span title="りっぱ - fine, elegant" class="popup">立派</span>な<span title="おとな - adult" class="popup">大人</span>に<span title="なる - to become" class="popup">なった</span>。
<br />- The Alice that was a child became a fine adult.
</p>

<p>
（３）　<em><span title="ともだち - friend" class="popup">友達</span>じゃなかった</em>アリスは、<span title="いい - good" class="popup">いい</span><span title="ともだち - friend" class="popup">友達</span>に<span title="なる - to become" class="popup">なった</span>。
<br />- Alice who was not a friend, became a good friend.
</p>

<p>
（４）　<em><span title="せんしゅう - last week" class="popup">先週</span>に<span title="いしゃ - doctor" class="popup">医者</span>だった</em>ボブは、<span title="しごと - job" class="popup">仕事</span>を<span title="やめる - to quit" class="popup">辞めた</span>。
<br />- Bob who was a doctor last week quit his job.
</p>

<h2 id="part3.subclause.html">Using subordinate verb clauses as adjectives</h2>
Verbs clauses can also be used just like adjectives to modify nouns.  The following examples show us how this will allow us to make quite detailed and
complicated sentences.  The verb clause is highlighted.

<h3>Examples</h3>
<p>
（１）　<em><span title="せんしゅう - last week" class="popup">先週</span>に<span title="えいが - movie" class="popup">映画</span>を<span title="みる - to see" class="popup">見た</span></em><span title="ひと - person" class="popup">人</span>は<span title="だれ - who" class="popup">誰</span>？
<br />- Who is person who watched movie last week?
</p>

<p>
（２）　ボブは、<em><span title="いつも - always" class="popup">いつも</span><span title="べんきょう - study" class="popup">勉強</span><span title="する - to do" class="popup">する</span></em><span title="ひと - person" class="popup">人</span>だ。
<br />- Bob is a person who always studies.
</p>

<p>
（３）　<em><span title="あかい - red" class="popup">赤い</span><span title="ズボン - pants" class="popup">ズボン</span>を<span title="かう - to buy" class="popup">買う</span></em><span title="ともだち - friend" class="popup">友達</span>はボブだ。
<br />- Friend who buy red pants is Bob.
</p>

<p>
（４）　<em><span title="ばんごはん - dinner" class="popup">晩ご飯</span>を<span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べなかった</span></em><span title="ひと - person" class="popup">人</span>は、<em><span title="えいが - movie" class="popup">映画</span>で<span title="みる - to see" class="popup">見た</span></em><span title="ぎんこう - bank" class="popup">銀行</span>に<span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行った</span>。
<br />- Person who did not eat dinner went to the bank she saw at movie.
</p>

<h2 id="part4.subclause.html">Japanese Sentence Order</h2>
Now that we've learned the concept of subordinate clauses and how they are used as building blocks to make sentences, I can go over how Japanese sentence
ordering works. There's this myth that keeps floating around about Japanese sentence order that continues to plague many hapless beginners to Japanese.
Here's how it goes.

<p>The most basic sentence structure in English can be described as consisting of the following elements in this specific order: [Subject] [Verb] [Object].
A sentence is not grammatically correct if any of those elements are missing or out of order.</p>

<p>Japanese students will tell you that Japanese, on the other hand, while frothing at the mouth, is completely backwards!! Even some Japanese teacher might tell you
that the basic Japanese sentence order is [Subject] [Object] [Verb]. This is a classic example of trying to fit Japanese into an English-based type of thinking.
Of course, we all know (right?) that the real order of the fundamental Japanese sentence is: [Verb].
Anything else that comes before the verb doesn't have to come in any particular order and nothing more than the verb is required to make a complete sentence.
In addition, the verb must always come at the end.
That's the whole point of even having particles so that they can identify what grammatical function a word serves no matter where it is in the sentence.
In fact, nothing will stop us from making a sentence with [Object] [Subject] [Verb] or just [Object] [Verb]. The following sentences are all complete and correct
because the verb is at the end of the sentence.</p>

<h3>Grammatically complete and correctly ordered sentences</h3>
（１）　<span title="わたし - me, myself, I" class="popup">私</span>は<span title="こうえん - park" class="popup">公園</span>で<span title="おべんとう - box lunch" class="popup">お弁当</span>を<em><span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べた</span></em>。
<br />（２）　<span title="こうえん - park" class="popup">公園</span>で<span title="わたし - me, myself, I" class="popup">私</span>は<span title="おべんとう - box lunch" class="popup">お弁当</span>を<em><span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べた</span></em>。
<br />（３）　<span title="おべんとう - box lunch" class="popup">お弁当</span>を<span title="わたし - me, myself, I" class="popup">私</span>は<span title="こうえん - park" class="popup">公園</span>で<em><span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べた</span></em>。
<br />（４）　<span title="べんとう - box lunch" class="popup">弁当</span>を<em><span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べた</span></em>。
<br />（５）　<em><span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べた</span></em>。

<p>So don't sweat over whether your sentence is in the correct order. Just remember the following rules.</p>

<div class="sumbox">
<span class="summary">Japanese sentence order</span>
<ol>
<li>A complete sentence requires a main verb that must come at the end. This also includes the implied state-of-being.
<br />例） <span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べた</span>
<br />例） <span title="がくせい - student" class="popup">学生</span>（だ）
</li>
<li>Complete sentences (subordinate clauses) can be used to modify nouns to make sentences with nested subordinate clauses. (Except for one exception, <a href="subclause.html#part2.subclause.html">see above</a>)
<br />例） <em><span title="おべんとう - box lunch" class="popup">お弁当</span>を<span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べた</span></em><span title="がくせい - student" class="popup">学生</span>が<span title="こうえん - park" class="popup">公園</span>に<span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行った</span>。</li>
</ol>
</div>

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<p class="copyright">Copyright &copy; 2003-2007 Tae Kim (taekim.japanese AT gmail.com)</p>
<p>
<a href="http://www.guidetojapanese.org/forum/viewforum.php?id=18">Report a correction or suggestion for this page</a>
</p>
</div>

<div class="small" style="text-align:right;"><pre>This page has last been revised on 2006/9/19</pre></div>

<br class="break"/>
<h1>Particles Revolution</h1>

<br /><br /><br />

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
<tr><td>
<div class="outline">
<!-- outline menu -->
<center><span class="summary">Outline</span></center>
<ol>
<li><a href="#part1.particles3.html">The last three particles (Not!)</a></li>
<li><a href="#part2.particles3.html">The Inclusive 「と」 particle</a></li>
<li><a href="#part3.particles3.html">The Vague Listing 「や」 and 「とか」 particles</a></li>
<li><a href="#part4.particles3.html">The 「の」 particle</a></li>
<li><a href="#part5.particles3.html">The 「の」 particle as explanation</a></li>
</ol>
</div>
</td></tr>
</table>

<h2 id="part1.particles3.html">The last three particles (Not!)</h2>
We have already gone over very powerful constructs that can
express almost anything we want.  We will see the 「の」 particle will give us even more power by allowing us to define a generic, abstract
noun.  We will also learn how to modify nouns directly with nouns.  The three particles we will cover can group nouns together in different ways.
<p>This is the last lesson that will be specifically focused on particles but that does <i>not</i> mean that there are no more particles to learn.
We will learn many more particles along the way but they may not be labeled as such.  As long as you know what they mean and how to use them,
it is not too important to know whether they are particles or not.
</p>

<h2 id="part2.particles3.html">The Inclusive 「と」 particle</h2>
The 「と」 particle is similar to the 「も」 particle in that it contains a meaning of inclusion.  It can combine two or more nouns together to mean "and".
<p>（１）　<span title="スプーン - spoon" class="popup">スプーン</span><em>と</em><span title="フォーク - fork" class="popup">フォーク</span>で<span title="さかな - fish" class="popup">魚</span>を<span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べた</span>。- Ate fish by means of fork and spoon.
<br />（２）　<span title="ほん - book" class="popup">本</span><em>と</em><span title="ざっし - magazine" class="popup">雑誌</span><em>と</em><span title="はがき - postcard" class="popup">葉書</span>を<span title="かう - to buy" class="popup">買った</span>。- Bought book, magazine, and post card.
</p>

<p>Another similar use of the 「と」 particle is to show an action that was done together with someone or something else.
<br />（１）　<span title="ともだち - friend" class="popup">友達</span><em>と</em><span title="はなす - to talk" class="popup">話した</span>。- Talked with friend.
<br />（２）　<span title="せんせい - teacher" class="popup">先生</span><em>と</em><span title="あう - to meet" class="popup">会った</span>。 - Met with teacher.
</p>


<h2 id="part3.particles3.html">The Vague Listing 「や」 and 「とか」 particles</h2>
The 「や」 particle, just like the 「と」 particle, is used to list one or more nouns except that it is much more vague than the 「と」 particle.
It implies that there may be other things that are unlisted and that not all items in the list may apply.
In English, you might think of this as an "and/or, etc." type of listing.

<p>（１）　<span title="のみもの - beverage" class="popup">飲み物</span><em>や</em><span title="カップ - cup" class="popup">カップ</span><em>や</em><span title="ナプキン - napkin" class="popup">ナプキン</span>は、<span title="いる - to need" class="popup">いらない</span>？- You don't need (things like) drink, cup, or napkin, etc.?
<br />（２）　<span title="くつ - shoes" class="popup">靴</span><em>や</em><span title="シャツ - shirt" class="popup">シャツ</span>を<span title="かう - to buy" class="popup">買う</span>。- Buy (things like) shoes and shirt, etc...
</p>

<p>「とか」 also has the same meaning as 「や」 but is a slightly more colloquial expression.
<br />（１）　<span title="のみもの - beverage" class="popup">飲み物</span><em>とか</em><span title="カップ - cup" class="popup">カップ</span><em>とか</em><span title="ナプキン - napkin" class="popup">ナプキン</span>は、<span title="いる - to need" class="popup">いらない</span>？- You don't need (things like) drink, cup, or napkin, etc.?
<br />（２）　<span title="くつ - shoes" class="popup">靴</span><em>とか</em><span title="シャツ - shirt" class="popup">シャツ</span>を<span title="かう - to buy" class="popup">買う</span>。- Buy (things like) shoes and shirt, etc...
</p>

<h2 id="part4.particles3.html">The 「の」 particle</h2>
The 「の」 particle has many uses and it is a very powerful particle.  It is introduced here because like the 「と」 and 「や」 particle, it can be used to
connect one or more nouns.  Let's look at a few examples.
<p>（１）　ボブ<em>の</em><span title="ほん - book" class="popup">本</span>。- Book of Bob.
<br />（２）　<span title="ほん - book" class="popup">本</span><em>の</em>ボブ。- Bob of book.
<br />The first sentence essentially means, "Bob's book." (not a bible chapter).  The second sentence means, "Book's Bob" which is probably a
mistake.  I've translated （１） as "book of Bob" because the 「の」 particle doesn't always imply possession as the next example shows.
</p>

<p>（１）　ボブは、<span title="アメリカ - America" class="popup">アメリカ</span><em>の</em><span title="だいがく - college" class="popup">大学</span><em>の</em><span title="がくせい - student" class="popup">学生</span>だ。- Bob is student of college of America.
<br />In normal English, this would translate to, "Bob is a student of an American college." The order of modification is backwards so Bob is a student
of a college that is American.
「<span title="がくせい - student" class="popup">学生</span>の<span title="だいがく - college" class="popup">大学</span>の<span title="アメリカ - America" class="popup">アメリカ</span>」 means "America of college of student" which is probably an error and makes little sense.  (America of student's college?)
</p>

<p>The noun that is being modified can be omitted if the context clearly indicates what is being omitted.  The following highlighted redundant words
can be omitted.
<br />（１）　<span title="その - that" class="popup">その</span><span title="シャツ - shirt" class="popup">シャツ</span>は<span title="だれ - who" class="popup">誰</span>の<em><span title="シャツ - shirt" class="popup">シャツ</span></em>？- Whose shirt is that shirt?
<br />（２）　ボブの<em><span title="シャツ - shirt" class="popup">シャツ</span></em>だ。- It is shirt of Bob.
<br />to become:
<br />（１）　<span title="その - that" class="popup">その</span><span title="シャツ - shirt" class="popup">シャツ</span>は<span title="だれ - who" class="popup">誰</span><em>の</em>？- Whose shirt is that?
<br />（２）　ボブ<em>の</em>だ。- It is of Bob.
<br />（「<span title="その - that" class="popup">その</span>」 is an abbreviation of 「<span title="それ - that" class="popup">それ</span>+の」 so it directly modifies the noun because the 「の」 particle is intrinsically attached.  Other words include 「<span title="この - this" class="popup">この</span>」
from 「<span title="これ - this" class="popup">これ</span>の」 and 「<span title="あの - that (over there)" class="popup">あの</span>」 from 「<span title="あれ - that (over there)" class="popup">あれ</span>の」.）
</p>

<p>The 「の」 particle in this usage essentially replaces the noun and takes over the role as a noun itself.  We can essentially treat adjectives and verbs
just like nouns by adding the 「の」 particle to it.  The particle then becomes a generic noun, which we can treat just like a regular noun.
<br />（１）　<em><span title="しろい - white" class="popup">白い</span>の</em>は、<span title="かわいい - cute" class="popup">かわいい</span>。- Thing that is white is cute.
<br />（２）　<em><span title="じゅぎょう - class" class="popup">授業</span>に<span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行く</span>の</em>を<span title="わすれる - to forget" class="popup">忘れた</span>。- Forgot the event of going to class.
</p>

<p>Now we can use the direct object, topic, and identifier particle with verbs and adjectives.  We don't necessarily have to use the 「の」 particle here.
We can use the noun 「<span title="もの - object" class="popup">物</span>」, which is a generic object or 「<span title="こと - event, matter" class="popup">こと</span>」 for a generic event.  For example, we can also say:
<br />（１）　<span title="しろい - white" class="popup">白い</span><em><span title="もの - object" class="popup">物</span></em>は、<span title="かわいい - cute" class="popup">かわいい</span>。- Thing that is white is cute.
<br />（２）　<span title="じゅぎょう - class" class="popup">授業</span>に<span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行く</span><em><span title="こと - event, matter" class="popup">こと</span></em>を<span title="わすれる - to forget" class="popup">忘れた</span>。- Forgot the thing of going to class.
</p>

<p>However, the 「の」 particle is very useful in that you don't have to specify a particular noun.  In the next examples, the 「の」 particle is not replacing
any particular noun, it just allows us to modify verb and adjective clauses like noun clauses.  The subordinate clauses are highlighted.
<br />（１）　<em><span title="まいにち - every day" class="popup">毎日</span><span title="べんきょう - study" class="popup">勉強</span><span title="する - to do" class="popup">する</span></em>のは<span title="たいへん - tough, hard time" class="popup">大変</span>。 - The thing of studying every day is tough.
<br />（２）　<em><span title="まいにち - every day" class="popup">毎日</span><span title="おなじ - same" class="popup">同じ</span><span title="もの - object" class="popup">物</span>を<span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べる</span></em>のは、<span title="おもしろい - interesting" class="popup">面白くない</span>。- It's not interesting to eat same thing every day.
<br />You might have noticed that the word 「<span title="おなじ - same" class="popup">同じ</span>」 is directly modifying 「<span title="もの - object" class="popup">物</span>」 even though it obviously isn't an i-adjective.  I have no idea why this is
possible.  One explanation might be that it is actually an adverb, which we will soon learn doesn't require any particles.
</p>

<p>Otherwise, even when substituting 「の」 for a noun, you still need the 「な」 to modify the noun when a na-adjective is being used.
<br />（１）　<span title="しずか - quiet" class="popup">静か</span><em>な</em><span title="へや - room" class="popup">部屋</span>が、アリスの<span title="へや - room" class="popup">部屋</span>だ。- Quiet room is room of Alice.
<br /> becomes:
<br />（１）　<span title="しずか - quiet" class="popup">静か</span><em>な</em>のが、アリスの<span title="へや - room" class="popup">部屋</span>だ。- Quiet one is room of Alice.
</p>

<p>*Warning: This may make things seem like you can replace any arbitrary nouns with 「の」 but this is not so.  It is important to realize that the
sentence must be about the clause and not the noun that was replaced.  For example, in the last section we had the sentence, 「<span title="がくせい - student" class="popup">学生</span>じゃない<span title="ひと - person" class="popup">人</span>は、
<span title="がっこう - school" class="popup">学校</span>に<span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行かない</span>」.  You may think that you can just replace 「<span title="ひと - person" class="popup">人</span>」 with 「の」 to produce 「<span title="がくせい - student" class="popup">学生</span>じゃない<em>の</em>は、<span title="がっこう - school" class="popup">学校</span>に<span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行かない</span>」.  But in fact, this makes no
sense because the sentence is now about the clause "Is not student".  The sentence becomes, "The thing of not being student does not go to
school" which is complete gibberish because not being a student is a state and it doesn't make sense for a state to go anywhere much less school.
</p>

<h2 id="part5.particles3.html">The 「の」 particle as explanation</h2>
The 「の」 particle attached at the end of the last clause of a sentence can also convey an explanatory tone to your sentence.  For example,
if someone asked
you if you have time, you might respond, "The thing is I'm kind of busy right now."  The abstract generic noun of "the thing is..." can also be
expressed with the 「の」 particle.  This type of sentence has an embedded meaning that explains the reason(s) for something else.
<p>The sentence would be expressed like so:
<br />（１）　<span title="いま - now" class="popup">今</span>は<span title="いそがしい - busy" class="popup">忙しい</span><em>の</em>。- The thing is that (I'm) busy now.
</p>
<p>This sounds very soft and feminine.  In fact, adult males will almost always add a declarative 「だ」 unless they want to sound cute for some reason.
<br />（２）　<span title="いま - now" class="popup">今</span>は<span title="いそがしい - busy" class="popup">忙しい</span><em>のだ</em>。- The thing is that (I'm) busy now.
</p>

<p>However, since the declarative 「だ」 cannot be used in a question, the same 「の」 in questions do not carry a feminine tone at all and is used by
both males and females.
<br />（３）　<span title="いま - now" class="popup">今</span>は<span title="いそがしい - busy" class="popup">忙しい</span><em>の</em>？- Is it that (you) are busy now? (gender-neutral)
</p>

<p>To express state of being, when the 「の」 particle is used to convey this explanatory tone, <u>we need to add 「な」</u>
to distinguish it from the 「の」 particle that simply
means "of".
<br />（１）　ジムのだ。- It is of Jim. (It is Jim's.)
<br />（２）　ジム<em>な</em>のだ。- It is Jim (with explanatory tone).
<br />Besides this one case, everything else remains the same as before.
</p>

<p>In actuality, while this type of explanatory tone is used all the time, 「のだ」 is usually substituted by 「んだ」. This is probably due to the fact that
「んだ」 is easier to say than 「のだ」.  This grammar can have what seems like many different meaning because not only can it be used with all forms of
adjectives, nouns, and verbs it itself can <b>also</b> be conjugated just like the state of being. A conjugation chart will show you what this means.
</p>

<p>
There's really nothing new here. The first chart is just adding 「んだ」 (or 「なんだ」)
to a conjugated verb, noun, or adjective.  The second chart adds 「んだ」 (or 「なんだ」) to a non-conjugated verb, noun, adjective and then conjugates the
「だ」 part of 「んだ」 just like a regular state of being for nouns and na-adjectives. Just don't forget to attach the 「な」 for nouns as well as na-adjectives.
</p>

<p />
<center>
<table border="1" cellpadding="5">
<caption>「んだ」 attached to different conjugations <br />(You may substitute 「の」 or 「のだ」 for 「んだ」)</caption>
<tr align="center"><th></th><th>Noun/Na-Adj</th><th>Verb/I-Adj</th></tr>
<tr align="center"><th>Plain</th><td><span title="がくせい - student" class="popup">学生</span><em>なんだ</em></td><td><span title="のむ - to drink" class="popup">飲む</span><em>んだ</em></td></tr>
<tr align="center"><th>Negative</th><td><span title="がくせい - student" class="popup">学生</span>じゃない<em>んだ</em></td><td><span title="のむ - to drink" class="popup">飲まない</span><em>んだ</em></td></tr>
<tr align="center"><th>Past</th><td><span title="がくせい - student" class="popup">学生</span>だった<em>んだ</em></td><td><span title="のむ - to drink" class="popup">飲んだ</span><em>んだ</em></td></tr>
<tr align="center"><th>Past-Neg</th><td><span title="がくせい - student" class="popup">学生</span>じゃなかった<em>んだ</em></td><td><span title="のむ - to drink" class="popup">飲まなかった</span><em>んだ</em></td></tr>
</table>
</center>

<p />
<center>
<table border="1" cellpadding="5">
<caption>「んだ」 itself is conjugated <br />(You may substitute 「の」 for 「ん」 and 「の」 or 「のだ」 for 「んだ」)</caption>
<tr align="center"><th></th><th>Noun/Na-Adj</th><th>Verb/I-Adj</th></tr>
<tr align="center"><th>Plain</th><td><span title="がくせい - student" class="popup">学生</span><em>なんだ</em></td><td><span title="のむ - to drink" class="popup">飲む</span><em>んだ</em></td></tr>
<tr align="center"><th>Negative</td><td><span title="がくせい - student" class="popup">学生</span><em>なんじゃない</em></td><td><span title="のむ - to drink" class="popup">飲む</span><em>んじゃない</em></td></tr>
<tr align="center"><th>Past</th><td><span title="がくせい - student" class="popup">学生</span><em>なんだった</em></td><td><span title="のむ - to drink" class="popup">飲む</span><em>んだった</em></td></tr>
<tr align="center"><th>Past-Neg</th><td><span title="がくせい - student" class="popup">学生</span><em>なんじゃなかった</em></td><td><span title="のむ - to drink" class="popup">飲む</span><em>んじゃなかった</em></td></tr>
</table>
</center>

<p>I would say that the past and past-negative forms for noun/na-adjective in the second chart are almost never used (especially with 「の」) but
they are presented for completeness.
</p>

<p>The crucial difference between using the explanatory 「の」 and not using anything at all is that you are telling the listener, "Look, here's the reason"
 as opposed to simply imparting new information. For example, if someone asked you, "Are you busy now?" you can simply answer, 「<span title="いま - now" class="popup">今</span>は<span title="いそがしい - busy" class="popup">忙しい</span>」.
However, if someone asked you, "How come you can't talk to me?" since you obviously have some explaining to do, you would answer, 「<span title="いま - now" class="popup">今</span>は<span title="いそがしい - busy" class="popup">忙しい</span>の」 or 「<span title="いま - now" class="popup">今</span>は<span title="いそがしい - busy" class="popup">忙しい</span>んだ」.
This grammar is indispensable for seeking explanations in questions. For instance, if you want to ask, "Hey, isn't it late?" you can't just ask, 「<span title="おそい - late" class="popup">遅くない</span>？」 because that
means, "It's not late?" You need to indicate that you are seeking explanation in the form of 「<span title="おそい - late" class="popup">遅い</span>んじゃない？」.
</p>

<p>
Let's see some examples of the types of situations where this grammar is used. The examples will have literal
translation to make it easier to see how the meaning stays the same and carries over into what would be very different types of sentences in
normal English.  A more natural English translation is provided as well because the literal translations can get a bit convoluted.
</p>

<h3>Example 1</h3>
アリス：　<span title="どこ - where" class="popup">どこ</span>に<span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行く</span><em>の</em>？- Where is it that (you) are going?
<br />ボブ：　<span title="じゅぎょう - class" class="popup">授業</span>に<span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行く</span><em>んだ</em>。- It is that (I) go to class.
<br />Alice: Where are you going? (Seeking explanation)
<br />Bob: I'm going to class. (Explanatory)

<h3>Example 2</h3>
アリス：　<span title="いま - now" class="popup">今</span>、<span title="じゅぎょう - class" class="popup">授業</span>が<span title="ある - to exist (inanimate)" class="popup">ある</span><em>んじゃない</em>？- Isn't it that there is class now?
<br />ボブ：　<span title="いま - now" class="popup">今</span>は、<span title="ある - to exist (inanimate)" class="popup">ない</span><em>んだ</em>。- Now it is that there is no class.
<br />Alice: Don't you have class now? (Expecting that there is class)
<br />Bob: No, there is no class now. (Explanatory)


<h3>Example 3</h3>
アリス：　<span title="いま - now" class="popup">今</span>、<span title="じゅぎょう - class" class="popup">授業</span>が<span title="ある - to exist (inanimate)" class="popup">ない</span><em>んじゃない</em>？- Isn't it that there isn't class now?
<br />ボブ：　<span title="ううん - no" class="popup">ううん</span>、<span title="ある - to exist (inanimate)" class="popup">ある</span>。- No, there is.
<br />Alice: Don't you not have class now? (Expecting that there is no class)
<br />Bob: No, I do have class.


<h3>Example 4</h3>
アリス：　<span title="その - that" class="popup">その</span><span title="ひと - person" class="popup">人</span>が<span title="かう - to buy" class="popup">買う</span><em>んじゃなかったの</em>？- Wasn't it that that person was the one to buy?
<br />ボブ：　<span title="ううん - no" class="popup">ううん</span>、<span title="せんせい - teacher" class="popup">先生</span>が<span title="かう - to buy" class="popup">買う</span><em>んだ</em>。- No, it is that teacher is the one to buy.
<br />Alice: Wasn't that person going to buy? (Expecting that the person would buy)
<br />Bob: No, the teacher is going to. (Explanatory)

<h3>Example 5</h3>
アリス：　<span title="あさごはん - breakfast" class="popup">朝ご飯</span>を<span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べる</span><em>んじゃなかった</em>。 - It is that breakfast wasn't to eat.
<br />ボブ：　<span title="どうして - why" class="popup">どうして</span>？ - Why?
<br />Alice: Should not have eaten breakfast, you know. (Explaining that breakfast wasn't to be eaten)
<br />Bob: How come?

<p>Don't worry if you are thoroughly confused by now, we will see many more examples along the way.
Once you get the sense of how everything works, it's better to forget the English because the double and triple negatives can get quite confusing
such as Example 3.  However, in Japanese it is a perfectly normal expression, as you will begin to realize once you get accustomed to Japanese.
</p>

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<p>
<a href="http://www.guidetojapanese.org/forum/viewforum.php?id=18">Report a correction or suggestion for this page</a>
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</div>

<div class="small" style="text-align:right;"><pre>This page has last been revised on 2006/9/21
Removed unknown reference to 「そこ」 and 「あそこ」 (2005/6/1)
</pre></div>

<br class="break"/>
<h1>Using Adverbs and Gobi</h1>

<br /><br /><br />

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
<tr><td>
<div class="outline">
<!-- outline menu -->
<center><span class="summary">Outline</span></center>
<ol>
<li><a href="#part1.adgobi.html">Why adverbs and gobi?</a></li>
<li><a href="#part2.adgobi.html">Properties of Adverbs</a></li>
<li><a href="#part3.adgobi.html">What's a "gobi"?</a></li>
<li><a href="#part4.adgobi.html">The 「ね」 gobi</a></li>
<li><a href="#part5.adgobi.html">The 「よ」 gobi</a></li>
<li><a href="#part6.adgobi.html">Combining both to get 「よね」</a></li>
</ol>
</div>
</td></tr>
</table>

<h2 id="part1.adgobi.html">Why adverbs and gobi?</h2>
Well, the two are not related to each other but I have decided to group them in one lesson because we will be covering only the two most
common gobi for now and it is too short to be a separate lesson in itself.

<h2 id="part2.adgobi.html">Properties of Adverbs</h2>
Unlike English, changing adjectives to adverbs is a very simple and straightforward process.  In addition, since the system of particles make
sentence ordering flexible, adverbs can be placed anywhere in the clause that it applies to
long as it comes <i>before</i> the verb that it refers to.  As usual, we have two separate rules: one for i-adjectives, and one for na-adjectives.

<div class="sumbox">
<span class="summary">How to change an adjective to an adverb</span>
<ul>
<li>i-adjectives: Substitute the 「い」 with 「く」.
<br />例） <span title="はやい - fast, early" class="popup">早</span><em>い</em> → <span title="はやい - fast, early" class="popup">早<em>く</em></span></li>
<li>na-adjectives: Attach the target particle 「に」.
<br />例） <span title="きれい - pretty, neat" class="popup">きれい</span> → <span title="きれい - pretty, neat" class="popup">きれい</span><em>に</em></li>
</ul>
</div>

<p>（１）　ボブは<span title="あさごはん - breakfast" class="popup">朝ご飯</span>を<em><span title="はやい - fast, early" class="popup">早く</span></em><span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べた</span>。- Bob quickly ate breakfast.
<br />The adverb 「<span title="はやい - fast, early" class="popup">早く</span>」 is a little different from the English word 'fast' in that it can mean quickly in terms of speed <i>or</i> time.  In other words,
Bob may have eaten his breakfast early or he may have eaten it quickly depending on the context.  In other types of sentences such as 「<span title="はやい - fast, early" class="popup">早く</span><span title="はしる - to run" class="popup">走った</span>」, it is quite obvious that it probably means quickly and not early.  (Of course this
also depends on the context.)
</p>

<p>（２）　アリスは<span title="じぶん - oneself" class="popup">自分</span>の<span title="へや - room" class="popup">部屋</span>を<em><span title="きれい - pretty, neat" class="popup">きれい</span>に</em><span title="する - to do" class="popup">した</span>。- Alice did her own room toward clean.
<br />The literal translation kind of gives you a sense of why the target particle is used.  There is some argument against calling this an adverb at all
but it is convenient for us to do so because of the grouping of i-adjectives and na-adjectives.  Thinking of it as an adverb, we can interpret the
sentence to mean: "Alice did her room cleanly." or less literally: "Alice cleaned her room."  （「<span title="きれい - pretty, neat" class="popup">きれい</span>」 literally means "pretty" but if it helps,
you can think of it as, "Alice prettied up her own room."）
</p>

<p>Note: Not all adverbs are derived from adjectives.  Some words like 「<span title="ぜんぜん - completely, not at all" class="popup">全然</span>」 and 「<span title="たくさん - a lot" class="popup">たくさん</span>」
are adverbs in themselves without any conjugation. These words can be used without particles just like regular adverbs.
<br />（１）　<span title="えいが - movie" class="popup">映画</span>を<em><span title="たくさん - a lot" class="popup">たくさん</span></em><span title="みる - to see" class="popup">見た</span>。- Saw a lot of movies.
<br />（２）　<span title="さいきん - lately" class="popup">最近</span>、<em><span title="ぜんぜん - completely, not at all" class="popup">全然</span></em><span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べない</span>。- Lately, don't eat at all.
</p>

<p>Let's look at more examples of adverb usage.
<br />（１）　ボブの<span title="こえ - voice" class="popup">声</span>は、<em><span title="けっこう - fairly" class="popup">結構</span></em><span title="おおきい - large" class="popup">大きい</span>。 - Bob's voice is <em>fairly</em> large.
<br />（２）　<span title="この - this" class="popup">この</span><span title="まち - town" class="popup">町</span>は、<span title="さいきん - lately" class="popup">最近</span><em><span title="おおきい - large" class="popup">大きく</span></em><span title="かわる - to change" class="popup">変わった</span>。- This town had changed <em>greatly</em> lately.
<br />（３）　<span title="としょかん - library" class="popup">図書館</span>の<span title="なか - inside" class="popup">中</span>では、<em><span title="しずか - quiet" class="popup">静か</span>に</em><span title="する - to do" class="popup">する</span>。- Within the library, [we] do things <em>quietly</em>.
</p>

<h2 id="part3.adgobi.html">What's a "gobi"?</h2>
In this section, we will cover the two most commonly used gobi.  「語尾」 literally means "language tail" and it simply refers to
anything that comes at the end of a sentence or a word.  In this guide, I will use it to describe the one or two hiragana characters that always come at the end
of sentences due to the lack of better terminology.  These endings are often very hard to explain because many do not actually have a
specific meaning.  But they can change the 'sound' or 'feel' of a sentence and add some zest and pep to the sentence.  The two we will
cover here do have meanings and they are used quite often.

<h2 id="part4.adgobi.html">The 「ね」 gobi</h2>
People usually add 「ね」 to the end of their sentence when they are looking for (and expecting) agreement to what they are saying.  This is equivalent
to saying, "right?" or "isn't it?" in English.

<h3>Example 1</h3>
ボブ：　<span title="いい - good" class="popup">いい</span><span title="てんき - weather" class="popup">天気</span>だ<em>ね</em>。- Good weather, <em>huh</em>?
<br />アリス：　<span title="そう - that is so" class="popup">そう</span><em>ね</em>。- That is so, <em>isn't it</em>?
<br />The literal translation of 「<span title="そう - that is so" class="popup">そう</span>ね」 sounds a bit odd but it basically means something like, "Sure is".  Males would probably say, 「<span title="そう - that is so" class="popup">そう</span>だね」.

<h3>Example 2</h3>
アリス：　<span title="おもしろい - interesting" class="popup">おもしろい</span><span title="えいが - movie" class="popup">映画</span>だった<em>ね</em>。- That was interesting movie, <em>wasn't it</em>?
<br />ボブ：　え？<span title="ぜんぜん - completely, not at all" class="popup">全然</span><span title="おもしろい - interesting" class="popup">おもしろくなかった</span>。- Huh? No, it wasn't interesting at all.
<br />Since Alice is expecting agreement that the movie was interesting Bob is surprised because he didn't find the movie interesting at all. (「え」 is a
sound of surprise and confusion.)

<h2 id="part5.adgobi.html">The 「よ」 gobi</h2>
When 「よ」 is attached to the end of a sentence, it means that the speaker is informing the listener of something new.  In English, we might say this
with a, "You know..." such as the sentence, "You know, I'm actually a genius."

<h3>Example 1</h3>
アリス：　<span title="じかん - time" class="popup">時間</span>が<span title="ある - to exist (inanimate)" class="popup">ない</span><em>よ</em>。- <em>You know</em>, there is no time.
<br />ボブ：　<span title="だいじょうぶ - ok" class="popup">大丈夫だ</span><em>よ</em>。- It's ok, <em>you know</em>.


<h3>Example 2</h3>
アリス：　<span title="きょう - today" class="popup">今日</span>は<span title="いい - good" class="popup">いい</span><span title="てんき - weather" class="popup">天気</span>だね。- Good weather today, huh?
<br />ボブ：　<span title="うん - yeah" class="popup">うん</span>。<span title="でも - but" class="popup">でも</span>、<span title="あした - tomorrow" class="popup">明日</span><span title="あめ - rain" class="popup">雨</span>が<span title="ふる - to precipitate" class="popup">降る</span><em>よ</em>。- Yeah.  But it will rain tomorrow, <em>you know</em>.


<h2 id="part6.adgobi.html">Combining both to get 「よね」</h2>
You can also combine the two gobi we just learned to create 「よね」. This is essentially used when you want to inform the listener of some new point you're trying to
make and when you're seeking agreement on it at the same time. When combining the two, the order must always be 「よね」. You cannot reverse the order.

<h3>Example</h3>
アリス：　ボブは、<span title="さかな - fish" class="popup">魚</span>が<span title="すき - like" class="popup">好き</span>なんだ<em>よね</em>。- <em>You know</em>, you like fish, <em>dontcha</em>?
<br />ボブ：　<span title="そう - that is so" class="popup">そう</span>だね。- That is so, <em>huh</em>?

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<p class="copyright">Copyright &copy; 2003-2007 Tae Kim (taekim.japanese AT gmail.com)</p>
<p>
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</div>

<div class="small" style="text-align:right;"><pre>This page has last been revised on 2005/1/8</pre></div>

<br class="break"/>
<h1>Essential Grammar</h1>

<br /><br />

<h2>Grammar you must know</h2>
We have learned the basic foundation of the Japanese language.  Now that we have a general knowledge of how Japanese works,
we can now extend that by learning specific grammar for
various situations.  This section will go over what is considered to be essential grammar for basic practical Japanese.
You will begin to see fewer literal translations in order to emphasize the new grammar now that you (should) have a good understanding of the
basic fundamental grammar.  For example, in sentences where the subject has not been specified, I might simply specify the subject in the
translation as 'he' even though it may very well be "we" or "them" depending on the context.
<p>This section starts with transforming what we have learned so far into a more unassuming and politer form.
In any language, there are ways to word things differently to express a feeling of deference or politeness.  Even English has differences such as
saying, "May I..." vs "Can I...".  You may speak one way to your professor and another way to your friends.  However, Japanese is different in that
not only does the type of vocabulary change, the grammatical structure for <i>every sentence</i>
changes as well.  There is a distinct and clear line differentiating polite and casual types of speech.  On the one hand, the rules clearly tell you
how to structure your sentences for different social contexts.  On the other hand, every sentence you speak must be conjugated to the proper
level of politeness.  In section 3, we will cover the polite version of Japanese, which is required for speaking to people of higher social position or
to people you are unfamiliar with.</p>
<p>This section will then continue to cover the most useful major types of grammar in Japanese.  For this reason, we will learn the most common
conjugations such as the te-form, potential, conditional, and volitional.  The latter sections are in no particular order and neither does it need to be.
The grammar that is presented here is essential which means that you have to learn it all anyway and learn them well.</p>

<div class="sumbox">
<div class="outtitle">Lessons covered in this section</div>
<ul>
<li><a href="polite.html">Polite Form</a> - Covers the fundamental difference between polite and casual types of speech.  Goes over rules of
conjugation for the polite form.</li>
<li><a href="address.html">Addressing People</a> - Covers how to address people by properly according to their title or station.
Also covers the various types of pronouns and their appropriate uses.</li>
<li><a href="question.html">Question Marker</a> - Covers how to clearly indicate a question in polite form.  Also discusses the use of the question
marker in other contexts.</li>
<li><a href="compound.html">Compound Sentences</a> - Learn how to chain several sentences into one.  Introduces the ever useful te-form.</li>
<li><a href="enduring.html">Enduring States</a> - Learn how to express a continuing action or state using the te-form.</li>
<li><a href="potential.html">Potential Form</a> - Goes over how to express the ability to do something.</li>
<li><a href="surunaru.html">Using する and なる with the に particle</a> - Goes over some useful expressions with 「する」 and 「なる」.</li>
<li><a href="conditional.html">Conditionals</a> - Explains how to express things and events that occur on a given condition.
Comp sci majors, you'll want to read this section!</li>
<li><a href="haveto.html">Expressing "must" or "have to"</a> - How to say that you must or must not do something.  Also covers how you say
you don't have to do something.</li>
<li><a href="desire.html">Desire and Suggestions</a> - Goes over how to express desire and make suggestions.  A must-read for getting dates in
Japan!</li>
<li><a href="quotation.html">Using quoted subordinate clauses and expressing hearsay</a> - Learn how to express your thoughts and quote others
using quoted subordinate clauses.</li>
<li><a href="define.html">Defining and Describing</a> - Learn to use 「という」 to define, describe, or generally talk about something.</li>
<li><a href="try.html">Trying something out or attempting to do something</a> - Try out things or make an attempt to do something using this grammar.</li>
<li><a href="favor.html">Giving and Receiving</a> - Learn how to give and receive using 「あげる」、「やる」、「くれる」、and 「もらう」.</li>
<li><a href="requests.html">Making requests</a> - Learn how to make requests using 「～ください」、「～なさい」、「～ちょうだい」、and the command (imperative) form.</li>
<li><a href="numbers.html">Numbers and Counting</a> - Explains numbers and various counters for counting.</li>
<li><a href="wrapup4.html">Wrapping up and more Gobi</a> - Wrap up what we've learned in this section and finish up with gobi.</li>
</ul>
</div>

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<p class="copyright">Copyright &copy; 2003-2007 Tae Kim (taekim.japanese AT gmail.com)</p>
<p>
<a href="http://www.guidetojapanese.org/forum/viewforum.php?id=18">Report a correction or suggestion for this page</a>
</p>
</div>

<br class="break"/>
<h1>May you be so pleased as to learn this section?</h1>

<br /><br /><br />

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
<tr><td>
<div class="outline">
<!-- outline menu -->
<center><span class="summary">Outline</span></center>
<ol>
<li><a href="#part1.polite.html">Not being rude in Japan</a></li>
<li><a href="#part2.polite.html">The stem of verbs</a></li>
<li><a href="#part3.polite.html">Using 「～ます」 to make verbs polite</a></li>
<li><a href="#part4.polite.html">Using 「です」 for everything else</a></li>
<li><a href="#part5.polite.html">「です」 is NOT the same as 「だ」</a></li>
</ol>
</div>
</td></tr>
</table>

<h2 id="part1.polite.html">Not being rude in Japan</h2>
The Japanese we have learned so far is all well and good if you're 5-years old.  Unfortunately, adults are expected to use a politer version of the
language (called <span title="ていねいご - polite language" class="popup">丁寧語</span>) when addressing certain people.  People you will probably use <span title="ていねいご - polite language" class="popup">丁寧語</span> with are: 1) people of higher social rank, and 2) people
you are not familiar with.  Deciding when to use which language is pretty much a matter of 'feel'.  However, it is a good idea to stick with one form
for each person.
<p>Later (probably much later), we will learn an even politer version of the language called honorific （<span title="そんけいご - honorific language" class="popup">尊敬語</span>） and humble （<span title="けんじょうご - humble language" class="popup">謙譲語</span>） form.  It
will be more useful than you may think because store clerks, receptionists, and such will speak to you in those forms.  But for now, let's concentrate on just
<span title="ていねいご - polite language" class="popup">丁寧語</span>, which is the base for <span title="そんけいご - honorific language" class="popup">尊敬語</span> and <span title="けんじょうご - humble language" class="popup">謙譲語</span>.
</p>

<p>Fortunately, it is not difficult to change casual speech to polite speech.  There may be some slight changes to the vocabulary (for example, "yes"
and "no" become 「<span title="はい - yes" class="popup">はい</span>」 and 「<span title="いいえ - no" class="popup">いいえ</span>」 respectively in polite speech), and very colloquial types of gobi obviously are not used in polite speech.
(Don't worry; we haven't even gone over those yet.)  Essentially, the only main difference between polite and casual speech comes at the
very end of the sentence.  You cannot even tell whether a person is speaking in polite or casual speech until the sentence is finished.
</p>

<h2 id="part2.polite.html">The stem of verbs</h2>
In order to conjugate all u-verbs and ru-verbs into their respective polite forms, we will first learn about the stem of verbs.  This is often called
the <i>masu-stem</i> in Japanese textbooks but we will call it just the <i>stem</i> because it is used in many more conjugations than just its masu-form. The stem is
really great because it's very easy to produce and is useful in many different types of grammar.

<div class="sumbox">
<span class="summary">Rules for extracting the stem of verbs</span>
<ul>
<li>ru-verbs - Remove the 「る」
<br />例) <span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べ<em><strike>る</strike></em></span> → <span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べ</span></li>
<li>u-verbs - The last vowel sound changes from an / u /  vowel sound to an / i / vowel sound.
<br />例) <span title="およぐ - to swim" class="popup">泳<em><strike>ぐ</strike></em></span> → <span title="およぐ - to swim" class="popup">泳<em>ぎ</em></span></li>
<li>Exceptions - 「<span title="する - to do" class="popup">する</span>」 becomes 「し」 and 「<span title="くる - to come" class="popup">くる</span>」 becomes 「き」.</li>
</ul>
</div>

<p>The stem when used by itself can be a very
specialized and limited way of creating nouns from verbs.  While the 「の」 particle allows you to talk about verbs as if they were nouns, the stem
actually turns verbs into nouns.  In fact, in very rare cases, the stem is used more often than the verb itself.  For example, the stem of 「<span title="いかる - to get angry" class="popup">怒る</span>」（いかる）
is used more often than the verb itself.  The movie, "Fists of Fury" is translated as 「<span title="いかり - fury" class="popup">怒り</span>の<span title="てっけん - fist" class="popup">鉄拳</span>」 and not 「<span title="おこる - to get angry" class="popup">怒る</span><span title="てっけん - fist" class="popup">鉄拳</span>」.  In fact, 「<span title="おこる - to get angry" class="popup">怒る</span>」 will most likely be read
as 「<span title="おこる - to get angry" class="popup">おこる</span>」, a completely different verb with the same meaning and kanji!  There are a number of specific nouns (such as 「<span title="やすみ - rest, vacation" class="popup">休み</span>」)
that are really verb stems that are used like regular nouns. However, in general we cannot take any verb and make it into a noun.
For example, the following sentence is wrong.
</p>

<p>
（誤）　飲みを<span title="する - to do" class="popup">する</span>。- (This sentence makes sense but no one talks like this)
</p>

<p>However, a useful grammar that works in general for stems of all verbs is using the stem as a target with a motion verb (almost always 「行く」 and
「来る」 in this case).  This grammar means, "to go or to come to do [some verb]".  Here's an example.

</p>
<p>
（１）　<span title="あした - tomorrow" class="popup">明日</span>、<span title="えいが - movie" class="popup">映画</span>を<em><span title="みる - to see" class="popup">見</span>に</em><span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行く</span>。- Tomorrow, go to see movie.
<br />
「<span title="みる - to see" class="popup">見</span>に」 is the stem of 「<span title="みる - to see" class="popup">見る</span>」 combined with the target particle 「に」.
</p>

<p>The motion target particle 「へ」 sounds like you're literally going or coming to something while the 「に」 particle implies that you are going or coming
for the purpose of doing something.
</p>
<p>
（１）　<span title="きのう - yesterday" class="popup">昨日</span>、<span title="ともだち - friend" class="popup">友達</span>が<em><span title="あそぶ - to play" class="popup">遊び</span>へ</em><span title="くる - to come" class="popup">きた</span>。
<br />- Yesterday, friend came to a playing activity. (Sounds a bit strange)
</p>
<p>
（２）　<span title="きのう - yesterday" class="popup">昨日</span>、<span title="ともだち - friend" class="popup">友達</span>が<em><span title="あそぶ - to play" class="popup">遊び</span>に</em><span title="くる - to come" class="popup">きた</span>。
<br />- Yesterday, friend came to play.
</p>

<p>The expression 「<span title="たのしむ - to enjoy" class="popup">楽しみ</span>に<span title="する - to do" class="popup">する</span>」 meaning "to look forward to" is formed from grammar similar to this but is a special case and should be
considered a set expression.</p>

<p>Other verbs are also sometimes attached to the stem to create new verbs.  For example, when 「<span title="だす - to bring out" class="popup">出す</span>」 is attached to
the stem of 「<span title="はしる - to run" class="popup">走る</span>」, which is 「<span title="はしる - to run" class="popup">走り</span>」, you get 「<span title="はしりだす - to break into a run" class="popup">走り出す</span>」 meaning "to break out into a run".
Other examples include 「<span title="きりかえる - to switch" class="popup">切り替える</span>」, which
means "to switch over to something else", and 「<span title="つけくわえる - to add one thing to another" class="popup">付け加える</span>」, which means "to add something by attaching it".  You can see how the separate
meanings of the two verbs are combined to create the new combined verb.  For example, 「<span title="いいだす - to start talking" class="popup">言い出す</span>」 means "to start talking",
combining the meaning, "to speak" and "to bring out".  There are no general rules here, you need to just memorize these combined
verbs as separate verbs in their own right.
</p>

<p>Things that are written in a formal context such as newspaper articles also use the stem as a conjunctive verb.
We will come back to this later in the <a href="formal.html#part4.polite.html">Formal Expression</a> lesson.
</p>

<h2 id="part3.polite.html">Using 「～ます」 to make verbs polite</h2>
Of course, the reason I introduced the verb stem is to learn how to conjugated verbs into their polite form... the masu-form!  The masu-form
must always come at the end of a complete sentence and never inside a modifying subordinate clause.  When we learn compound sentences, we will see that
each sub-sentence of the compound sentence can end in masu-form as well.

<p>
To conjugate verbs into the masu-form, you attach different conjugations of 「ます」 to the stem depending on the tense.  Here is a chart.
</p>

<center>
<table border="1" cellpadding="5">
<caption>A conjugation chart with sample stem 「<span title="あそぶ - to play" class="popup">遊び</span>」</caption>

<tr align="center">
<th></th><th>ます conjugations</th><th>Stem+ます</th></tr>

<tr align="center">
<th>Plain</th><td>ます</td>
<td><span title="あそぶ - to play" class="popup">遊び<em>ます</em></span></td></tr>

<tr align="center">
<th>Negative</th><td>ません</td>
<td><span title="あそぶ - to play" class="popup">遊び<em>ません</em></span></td></tr>

<tr align="center">
<th>Past</th><td>ました</td>
<td><span title="あそぶ - to play" class="popup">遊び<em>ました</em></span></td></tr>

<tr align="center">
<th>Past-Neg</th><td>ませんでした</td>
<td><span title="あそぶ - to play" class="popup">遊び<em>ませんでした</em></span></td></tr>
</table>
</center>

<h3>Examples</h3>
As usual, let's see some examples.
<p>
（１）　<span title="あした - tomorrow" class="popup">明日</span>、<span title="だいがく - college" class="popup">大学</span>に<em><span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行きます</span></em>。
<br />- Tomorrow, go to college.
</p>

<p>
（２）　<span title="せんしゅう - last week" class="popup">先週</span>、ボブに<em><span title="あう - to meet" class="popup">会いました</span></em>よ。
<br />- You know, met Bob last week.
</p>

<p>
（３）　<span title="ばんごはん - dinner" class="popup">晩ご飯</span>を<em><span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べませんでした</span></em>ね。
<br />- Didn't eat dinner, huh?
</p>

<p>
（４）　<span title="おもしろい - interesting" class="popup">面白くない</span><span title="えいが - movie" class="popup">映画</span>は<em><span title="みる - to see" class="popup">見ません</span></em>。
<br />- About not interesting movies, do not see (them).
</p>

<h2 id="part4.polite.html">Using 「です」 for everything else</h2>
For any sentence that does not end in a ru-verb or u-verb, the only thing that needs to be done is to add 「です」 or 「でした」.  You can also do this for
substituted nouns (both 「の」 and 「ん」) by just treating them like regular nouns (refer to: <a href="particles3.html#part4.polite.html">Particle 3</a>).
Another important thing to remember is
that if there is a declarative 「だ」, it must be removed.  In being polite, I guess you can't be so bold as to forwardly declare things the way 「だ」 does.
Just like the masu-form, this must also go at the end of a complete sentence. Here is a chart illustrating the conjugations.

<p />
<center>
<table border="1" cellpadding="5">
<caption>i-adjective (だ cannot be used)</caption>

<tr align="center">
<th></th><th>Casual</th><th>Polite</th></tr>

<tr align="center">
<th>Plain</th><td><span title="かわいい - cute" class="popup">かわいい</span></td>
<td><span title="かわいい - cute" class="popup">かわいい</span><em>です</em></td></tr>

<tr align="center">
<th>Negative</th><td><span title="かわいい - cute" class="popup">かわいくない</span></td>
<td><span title="かわいい - cute" class="popup">かわいくない</span><em>です</em></td></tr>

<tr align="center">
<th>Past</th><td><span title="かわいい - cute" class="popup">かわいかった</span></td>
<td><span title="かわいい - cute" class="popup">かわいかった</span><em>です</em></td></tr>

<tr align="center">
<th>Past-Neg</th><td><span title="かわいい - cute" class="popup">かわいくなかった</span></td>
<td><span title="かわいい - cute" class="popup">かわいくなかった</span><em>です</em></td></tr>

</table>

<p />
<table border="1" cellpadding="5">
<caption>na-adjective/noun (might have to remove だ)</caption>

<tr align="center">
<th></th><th>Casual</th><th>Polite</th></tr>

<tr align="center">
<th>Plain</th><td><span title="しずか - quiet" class="popup">静か</span>（だ）</td>
<td><span title="しずか - quiet" class="popup">静か</span><em>です</em></td></tr>

<tr align="center">
<th>Negative</th><td><span title="しずか - quiet" class="popup">静かじゃない</span></td>
<td><span title="しずか - quiet" class="popup">静かじゃない</span><em>です</em></td></tr>

<tr align="center">
<th>Past</th><td><span title="しずか - quiet" class="popup">静かだった</span></td>
<td><span title="しずか - quiet" class="popup">※静か</span><em>でした</em></td></tr>

<tr align="center">
<th>Past-Neg</th><td><span title="しずか - quiet" class="popup">静かじゃなかった</span></td>
<td><span title="しずか - quiet" class="popup">静かじゃなかった</span><em>です</em></td></tr>
</table>

</center>

<p>※ Notice in the case of noun/na-adjective <u>only</u>, the past tense becomes 「でした」. A very common mistake
is to do the same for i-adjectives. Remember 「<span title="かわいい - cute" class="popup">かわいい</span><em><strike>でした</strike></em>」 is wrong!</p>

<h3>Examples</h3>
<p>As usual, let's see some examples.</p>

<p>
（１）　<span title="こいぬ - puppy" class="popup">子犬</span>は<span title="とても - very" class="popup">とても</span><em><span title="すき - like" class="popup">好き</span>です</em>。
<br />- About puppies, like very much. (The most natural translation is that someone likes puppies very much but
there is not enough context to rule out that the puppies like something very much.)
</p>

<p>
（２）　<span title="きのう - yesterday" class="popup">昨日</span>、<span title="じかん - time" class="popup">時間</span>が<em><span title="ある - to exist (inanimate)" class="popup">なかった</span>んです</em>。
<br />- It was that there was no time yesterday.
</p>

<p>
（３）　<span title="その - that" class="popup">その</span><span title="へや - room" class="popup">部屋</span>は<span title="あまり - not very" class="popup">あまり</span><em><span title="しずか - quiet" class="popup">静かじゃない</span>です</em>。
<br />- That room is not very quiet.
</p>

<p>
（４）　<span title="せんしゅう - last week" class="popup">先週</span>に<span title="みる - to see" class="popup">見た</span><span title="えいが - movie" class="popup">映画</span>は、<span title="とても - very" class="popup">とても</span><em><span title="おもしろい - interesting" class="popup">面白かった</span>です</em>。
<br />- Movie saw last week was very interesting.
</p>

<h3>※ Reality Check</h3>
I have heard on a number of occasions that the negative non-past conjugation as given here is not an "officially" correct conjugation. Instead,
what's considered to be a more "correct" conjugation is to
actually replace the 「ないです」 part with 「<span title="ある - to exist (inanimate)" class="popup">ありません</span>」.  The reasoning is that the polite negative form of the verb
「<span title="ある - to exist (inanimate)" class="popup">ある</span>」 is not 「ないです」 but 「<span title="ある - to exist (inanimate)" class="popup">ありません</span>」.
Therefore,
「<span title="かわいい - cute" class="popup">かわいくない</span>」 actually becomes 「<span title="かわいい - cute" class="popup">かわいくありません</span>」
and 「<span title="しずか - quiet" class="popup">静かじゃない</span>」 becomes 「<span title="しずか - quiet" class="popup">静かじゃありません</span>」.
<p>The reality of today's Japanese is that what's supposed to be the "official" conjugation sounds rather stiff and formal. In normal everyday conversations, the conjugation presented here
will be used almost every time. While you should use the more formal conjugations for written works using the polite form, you'll rarely hear it in actual speech.
In conclusion, I recommend studying and becoming familiar with <u>both</u> types of conjugations.
</p>

<center>
<table border="1" cellpadding="5">
<caption>A more formal negative conjugation</caption>

<tr align="center">
<th></th><th>Casual</th><th>Polite</th></tr>

<tr align="center">
<th>Negative</th><td><span title="かわいい - cute" class="popup">かわいくない</span></td>
<td><span title="かわいい - cute" class="popup">かわいく</span><em>ありません</em></td></tr>

<tr align="center">
<th>Past-Neg</th><td><span title="かわいい - cute" class="popup">かわいくなかった</span></td>
<td><span title="かわいい - cute" class="popup">かわいく</span><em>ありませんでした</em></td></tr>

<tr align="center">
<th>Negative</th><td><span title="しずか - quiet" class="popup">静かじゃない</span></td>
<td><span title="しずか - quiet" class="popup">静かじゃ</span><em>ありません</em></td></tr>

<tr align="center">
<th>Past-Neg</th><td><span title="しずか - quiet" class="popup">静かじゃなかった</span></td>
<td><span title="しずか - quiet" class="popup">静かじゃ</span><em>ありませんでした</em></td></tr>
</table>
</center>

<h3>Examples</h3>
<p>
（１）　<span title="その - that" class="popup">その</span><span title="へや - room" class="popup">部屋</span>は<span title="あまり - not very" class="popup">あまり</span><span title="しずか - quiet" class="popup">静かじゃない</span><em>です</em>よ。
<br />- You know, that room is not very quiet.
</p>
<p>
（２）　<span title="その - that" class="popup">その</span><span title="へや - room" class="popup">部屋</span>は<span title="あまり - not very" class="popup">あまり</span><span title="しずか - quiet" class="popup">静か</span><em>じゃありません</em>よ。
<br />- You know, that room is not very quiet.
</p>

<h2 id="part5.polite.html">「です」 is NOT the same as 「だ」</h2>
Many of you who have taken Japanese classes have probably been taught that 「です」 is the polite version of 「だ」. However, I want to point some
several key differences here and the reasons why they are in fact completely different things.
It is impossible to fully explain the reasons why they are fundamentally different without discussing grammar that have yet to be covered so I would like to target this
toward those who have already started learning Japanese and have been incorrectly misinformed that 「だ」 is the casual version of 「です」. For the rest of you
new to this, you can easily skip this part.

<p>I'm sure most of you have learned the expression 「<span title="そう - that's so, that's right" class="popup">そう</span>」 by now. Now, there are four ways to make a
complete sentence using the state-of-being with 「<span title="そう - that's so, that's right" class="popup">そう</span>」 to produce a sentence that says, "That is so."
</p>

<h3>Different ways to say, "That is so."</h3>
（１）　<span title="そう - that's so, that's right" class="popup">そう</span>。
<br />（２）　<span title="そう - that's so, that's right" class="popup">そう</span>だ。
<br />（３）　<span title="そう - that's so, that's right" class="popup">そう</span>です。
<br />（４）　<span title="そう - that's so, that's right" class="popup">そう</span>でございます。

<p>The first 「<span title="そう - that's so, that's right" class="popup">そう</span>」 is the implied state of being and
「<span title="そう - that's so, that's right" class="popup">そう</span>だ」 is the declarative.  As I've stated before, the non-assuming soft spoken
「<span title="そう - that's so, that's right" class="popup">そう</span>」 is often used by females while the more confident
「<span title="そう - that's so, that's right" class="popup">そう</span>だ」 is often used by males.
「<span title="そう - that's so, that's right" class="popup">そう</span>です」 is the polite version of
「<span title="そう - that's so, that's right" class="popup">そう</span>」, created by attaching 「です」 to the noun.
「<span title="そう - that's so, that's right" class="popup">そう</span>です」 is <b>not</b> the polite version of
「<span title="そう - that's so, that's right" class="popup">そう</span>だ」 where the 「だ」 is replaced by 「です」 and I'll explain why.
</p>

<p>
Perhaps we wanted to make that sentence into a question instead to ask, "Is that so?" There are several ways to do this but some possibilities are given in the following.
(This grammar is covered in a <a href="question.html">later section</a>.)
</p>
<h3>Different ways to ask, "Is that so?"</h3>
（１）　<span title="そう - that's so, that's right" class="popup">そう</span>？
<br />（２）　<span title="そう - that's so, that's right" class="popup">そう</span>か？
<br />（３）　<span title="そう - that's so, that's right" class="popup">そう</span>ですか？

<p>As I've explained before, the 「だ」 is used to declare what one believes to be a fact. Therefore,
「<span title="そう - that's so, that's right" class="popup">そう</span>だか？」 is not a valid way to ask a question because it is declaring a fact and asking a question
at the same time. But the fact that 「<span title="そう - that's so, that's right" class="popup">そう</span>ですか」 is a valid question shows that 「です」 and 「だ」 are
essentially different. 「<span title="そう - that's so, that's right" class="popup">そう</span>です」, in showing respect and humbleness, is not as assertive and is
merely the polite version of 「<span title="そう - that's so, that's right" class="popup">そう</span>」.
</p>

<p>Besides the difference in nuance between 「だ」 and 「です」, another key difference is that 「だ」 is used in many different types of grammar to delineate a
subordinate clause. 「です」, on the other hand, is only used at the end of a sentence to designate a polite state-of-being. For instance, consider the two following
sentences. (This grammar is covered in a <a href="quotation.html">later section</a>.)
</p>

<p>
（正）　<span title="そう - that's so, that's right" class="popup">そう</span><em>だ</em>と<span title="おもう - to think" class="popup">思います</span> - I think that is so.
<br />（誤）　<span title="そう - that's so, that's right" class="popup">そう</span><em><strike>です</strike></em>と<span title="おもう - to think" class="popup">思います</span> - (Incorrect sentence)
</p>

<p>
「<span title="そう - that's so, that's right" class="popup">そう</span><em>だ</em>と<span title="おもう - to think" class="popup">思います</span>」 is valid
while 「<span title="そう - that's so, that's right" class="popup">そう</span><em>です</em>と<span title="おもう - to think" class="popup">思います</span>」 is not
because 「です」 can only go at the end of the sentence. 「です」 can only be in a subordinate clause when it is a direct quote of what someone said such as the following.
</p>

<p>（１）　「はい、<span title="そう - that's so, that's right" class="popup">そう</span>です」と<span title="こたえる - to answer" class="popup">答えた</span>。
</p>

In conclusion, replacing 「です」 with 「だ」, thinking one is the polite equivalent of the other or vice-versa will potentially result in grammatically incorrect sentences.
It is best to think of them as totally separate things (because they are).

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<p class="copyright">Copyright &copy; 2003-2007 Tae Kim (taekim.japanese AT gmail.com)</p>
<p>
<a href="http://www.guidetojapanese.org/forum/viewforum.php?id=18">Report a correction or suggestion for this page</a>
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<div class="small" style="text-align:right;"><pre>This page has last been revised on 2005/5/10</pre></div>


<br class="break"/>
<h1>I'm not talking about the postal system silly!</h1>

<br /><br /><br />

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
<tr><td>
<div class="outline">
<!-- outline menu -->
<center><span class="summary">Outline</span></center>
<ol>
<li><a href="#part1.address.html">Addressing people properly in Japanese</a></li>
<li><a href="#part2.address.html">Referring to yourself</a></li>
<li><a href="#part3.address.html">Referring to others by name</a></li>
<li><a href="#part4.address.html">Referring to others with "you"</a></li>
<li><a href="#part5.address.html">Referring to others in third person</a></li>
<li><a href="#part6.address.html">Referring to family members</a></li>
</ol>
</div>
</td></tr>
</table>

<h2 id="part1.address.html">Addressing people properly in Japanese</h2>
Not only is it important to use the right type of language with the right people, it is also important to address them by the right name.  It is also
important to address yourself with the proper level of politeness.  Japanese is special in that there are so many ways of saying the simple words, "I"
and "you".  We will go over some of ways to refer to yourself and others.

<h2 id="part2.address.html">Referring to yourself</h2>
There are many ways to say "I" in Japanese.  Some of these words are not as common and others are hopelessly outdated.  We will go over the
most common ones that are in use today.  The usages of all the different words for "I" is separated into two categories: gender and politeness.  In other
words, there are words that are usually used by males and words that are usually only used by females and they all depend on the social context.
<p>Before going into this: a note about the word 「<span title="わたし - me, myself, I" class="popup">私</span>」.  The official reading of the kanji is 「<span title="わたくし - me, myself, I" class="popup">わたくし</span>」.  This is the reading you is used in a
formal context (for example, a speech by the president of a company).  This reading will probably be accompanied with
honorific and humble forms, which we will cover later.  In all other situations, it is usually read as 「<span title="わたし - me, myself, I" class="popup">わたし</span>」.  This is the most generic
reference to "I" in terms of politeness and gender; therefore it is usually one of the first words taught to students of Japanese.
</p>

Here is a list of the most common words for "I" and how they are used:
<ol>
<li><span title="わたくし - me, myself, I (formal)" class="popup">私</span>（わたくし） - Used by both males and females for formal situations.</li>
<li><span title="わたし - me, myself, I" class="popup">私</span>（わたし） - Used by both males and females for normal polite situations.</li>
<li><span title="ぼく - me, myself, I" class="popup">僕</span> - Used primarily by males from fairly polite to fairly casual situations.</li>
<li><span title="おれ - me, myself, I" class="popup">俺</span> - A very rough version of "I" used almost exclusively by males in very casual situations.</li>
<li><span title="あたし - me, myself, I" class="popup">あたし</span> - A very feminine and casual way to refer to oneself.  Many girls have decided to opt for 「<span title="わたし - me, myself, I" class="popup">わたし</span>」 instead because of its cutesy and
girly sound.</li>
<li>One's own name - Also a very feminine and kind of childish way to refer to oneself.</li>
<li><span title="わし - me, myself, I" class="popup">わし</span> - Usually used by older men well in their middle-ages.</li>
</ol>


<p>Let's see how different types of sentences use the appropriate version of "I".  「わたくし」 is left out because we have yet to go over very formal
grammatical expressions.
</p>
<p>
（１）　<span title="わたし - me, myself, I" class="popup">私</span>の<span title="なまえ - name" class="popup">名前</span>はキムです。- My name is Kim. (Neutral, polite)
<br />（２）　<span title="ぼく - me, myself, I" class="popup">僕</span>の<span title="なまえ - name" class="popup">名前</span>はキムです。- My name is Kim. (Masculine, polite)
<br />（３）　<span title="ぼく - me, myself, I" class="popup">僕</span>の<span title="なまえ - name" class="popup">名前</span>はボブだ。- My name is Bob. (Masculine, casual)
<br />（４）　<span title="おれ - me, myself, I" class="popup">俺</span>の<span title="なまえ - name" class="popup">名前</span>はボブだ。- My name is Bob. (Masculine, casual)
<br />（５）　<span title="あたし - me, myself, I" class="popup">あたし</span>の<span title="なまえ - name" class="popup">名前</span>はアリス。- My name is Alice. (Feminine, casual)
</p>

<h2 id="part3.address.html">Referring to others by name</h2>
Japanese does not require the use of "you" nearly as much as English does.  I hope that the examples with Bob, Alice, and Jim have shown that
people refer to other people by their names even when they are directly addressing that person.  Another common way to address people is
by their title such as 「<span title="しゃちょう - company president" class="popup">社長</span>」、「<span title="かちょう - section manager" class="popup">課長</span>」、「<span title="せんせい - teacher" class="popup">先生</span>」, etc.  The word 「<span title="せんせい - teacher" class="popup">先生</span>」 is used to generally mean any person who has significant knowledge and expertise
in something.  For example, people usually use 「<span title="せんせい - teacher" class="popup">先生</span>」 when directly addressing doctors or teachers (obviously).  You can also include the
person's last name such as 「田中<span title="せんせい - teacher" class="popup">先生</span>」 (teacher Tanaka).  In the case where your relationship
with the person doesn't involve any title, you can use their name
(usually their last name) attached with 「さん」 to show politeness.  If calling them by their last name seems a little too polite and distant, the practice
of attaching 「さん」 to their first name also exists.  More endearing and colloquial versions of 「さん」 include 「くん」 and 「ちゃん」.  「くん」 is usually attached to
the name of males who are of equal or lower social position.  (For example, my boss sometimes calls me 「キムくん」).
「ちゃん」 is a very endearing way to refer to usually females of equal or lower social position.

<h2 id="part4.address.html">Referring to others with "you"</h2>
Please do not use 「<span title="あなた - you" class="popup">あなた</span>」 just like you would use the word "you" in English.
In directly addressing people, there are three levels of politeness: 1) Using the person's name with the appropriate suffix, 2) Not using anything
at all, 3) Using 「<span title="あなた - you" class="popup">あなた</span>」.  In fact, by the time you get to three, you're dangerously in the area of being rude.  Most of the time, you do not need to
use anything at all because you are directly addressing the person.  Constantly pounding the listener with "you" every sentence sounds like you are
accusing the person of something.

<p>
「<span title="あなた - you" class="popup">あなた</span>」 is also an old-fashioned way for women to refer to their husband or lover.
Unless you are a middle-aged women with a Japanese husband, I doubt you will be using 「<span title="あなた - you" class="popup">あなた</span>」 in this fashion as well.
</p>

<p>
Here is a list of some words meaning "you" in English. You will rarely need to use any of these words, especially the ones in the second half of the list.
</p>

<ol>
<li><span title="あなた - you" class="popup">あなた</span> - Generally only used when there is no way to physically address the person or know the person's name.
For example, direct questions to the reader on a form that the reader must fill out would use 「<span title="あなた - you" class="popup">あなた</span>」.</li>
<li><span title="きみ - you" class="popup">君</span> - Can be a very close and assuming way to address girls (especially by guys).  Can also be kind of rude.</li>
<li><span title="おまえ - you" class="popup">お前</span> - A very rough and coarse way to address someone.  Usually used by guys and often changed to 「<span title="おめえ - you" class="popup">おめえ</span>」.</li>
<li><span title="あんた - you" class="popup">あんた</span> - A very assuming and familiar way to address someone.  The person using this is maybe miffed off about something.</li>
<li><span title="てまえ - you" class="popup">手前</span> - Very rude.  Like 「<span title="おまえ - you" class="popup">お前</span>」, to add extra punch, people will usually say it like, 「てめ～～」.  Sounds like you want to beat someone up.  I've
only seen this one used in movies and comic books.  In fact, if you try this on your friends, they will probably laugh at you and tell you that you've
probably been reading too many comic books.</li>
<li><span title="きさま - you" class="popup">貴様</span> - Very, very rude.  Sounds like you want to take someone out.  I've also only seen this one used in comic books.  I only go over it so you
can understand and enjoy comic books yourself!</li>
</ol>


<h2 id="part5.address.html">Referring to others in third person</h2>
You can use 「<span title="かれ - he; boyfriend" class="popup">彼</span>」 and 「<span title="かのじょ - she, girlfriend" class="popup">彼女</span>」 for "he" and "she" respectively.
Notice that 「<span title="かれ - he; boyfriend" class="popup">彼</span>」 and 「<span title="かのじょ - she, girlfriend" class="popup">彼女</span>」 can also mean "boyfriend" and "girlfriend".
So how can you tell which meaning is being used?  Context, of course.  For example, if someone asks, 「<span title="かのじょ - she, girlfriend" class="popup">彼女</span>ですか？」 the person is obviously asking if she is you're girlfriend because the
question, "Is she she?" doesn't make any sense.
Another less commonly used alternative is to say 「<span title="ガールフレンド - girlfriend" class="popup">ガールフレンド</span>」 and
「<span title="ボーイフレンド - boyfriend" class="popup">ボーイフレンド</span>」 for, well, I'm sure you can guess what they mean.


<h2 id="part6.address.html">Referring to family members</h2>
Referring to family members is a little more complicated than English.  (It could be worse, try learning Korean!)  For the purpose of brevity,
(since this <i>is</i> a grammar guide and not a vocabulary guide) we will only go over the immediate family.  In Japanese, you refer to members of
other people's family more politely than your own.  This is only when you are talking about members of your own family to others <u>outside the
family</u>.  For example, you would refer to your own mother as 「<span title="はは - mother" class="popup">母</span>」 to people outside your family but you might very well call her 「<span title="おかあさん - mother" class="popup">お母さん</span>」 at home
within your own family.  There is also a distinction
between older and younger siblings.  The following chart list some of the most common terms for family members.  There may also be other possibilities not covered in this chart.
<p />
<center>
<table border="1" cellpadding="5">
<caption>Family member chart</caption>
<tr align="center"><th></th><th>One's own family</th><th>Someone else's family</th></tr>
<tr align="center"><td>Parents</td><td><span title="りょうしん - parents" class="popup">両親</span></td><td><span title="ごりょうしん - parents" class="popup">ご両親</span></td></tr>
<tr align="center"><td>Mother</td><td><span title="はは - mother" class="popup">母</span></td><td><span title="おかあさん - mother" class="popup">お母さん</span></td></tr>
<tr align="center"><td>Father</td><td><span title="ちち - father" class="popup">父</span></td><td><span title="おとうさん - father" class="popup">お父さん</span></td></tr>
<tr align="center"><td>Wife</td><td><span title="つま - wife" class="popup">妻</span></td><td><span title="おくさん - wife" class="popup">奥さん</span></td></tr>
<tr align="center"><td>Husband</td><td><span title="おっと - husband" class="popup">夫</span></td><td><span title="ごしゅじん - husband" class="popup">ご主人</span></td></tr>
<tr align="center"><td>Older Sister</td><td><span title="あね - older sister" class="popup">姉</span></td><td><span title="おねえさん - older sister" class="popup">お姉さん</span></td></tr>
<tr align="center"><td>Older Brother</td><td><span title="あに - older brother" class="popup">兄</span></td><td><span title="おにいさん - older brother" class="popup">お兄さん</span></td></tr>
<tr align="center"><td>Younger Sister</td><td><span title="いもうと - younger sister" class="popup">妹</span></td><td><span title="いもうとさん - younger sister" class="popup">妹さん</span></td></tr>
<tr align="center"><td>Younger Brother</td><td><span title="おとうと - younger brother" class="popup">弟</span></td><td><span title="おとうとさん - younger brother" class="popup">弟さん</span></td></tr>
<tr align="center"><td>Son</td><td><span title="むすこ - son" class="popup">息子</span></td><td><span title="むすこさん - son" class="popup">息子さん</span></td></tr>
<tr align="center"><td>Daughter</td><td><span title="むすめ - daughter" class="popup">娘</span></td><td><span title="むすめさん - daughter" class="popup">娘さん</span></td></tr>
</table>
</center>
<p>Another word for wife, 「<span title="かない - wife" class="popup">家内</span>」 is often considered politically incorrect because the kanji used are "house" and "inside" which implies that
wives belong in the home. Amen. (Just kidding)
</p>

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<p class="copyright">Copyright &copy; 2003-2007 Tae Kim (taekim.japanese AT gmail.com)</p>
<p>
<a href="http://www.guidetojapanese.org/forum/viewforum.php?id=18">Report a correction or suggestion for this page</a>
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</div>

<div class="small" style="text-align:right;"><pre>This page has last been revised on 2006/2/7
Cleaned up various small errors and expanded on あなた (2006/2/7)</pre>
</div>

<br class="break"/>
<h1>Question Marker</h1>

<br /><br /><br />

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
<tr><td>
<div class="outline">
<!-- outline menu -->
<center><span class="summary">Outline</span></center>
<ol>
<li><a href="#part1.question.html">Questions in polite form</a></li>
<li><a href="#part2.question.html">The question marker in casual speech</a></li>
<li><a href="#part3.question.html">「か」 used in subordinate clauses</a></li>
<li><a href="#part4.question.html">Using question words</a></li>
</ol>
</div>
</td></tr>
</table>

<h2 id="part1.question.html">Questions in polite form</h2>
The question marker is covered here because it is primarily used to clearly indicate a question in polite sentences.  While it is entirely possible to
express a question even in polite form using just intonation, the question marker is often attached to the very end of the sentence to indicate a
question.  The question marker is simply the hiragana character 「か」 and you don't need to add a question mark.  For
<a href="copula.html#part1.question.html">previously explained reasons</a>,
you must not use the declarative 「だ」 with the question marker.

<h3>Example 1</h3>
<span title="たなか - Tanaka" class="popup">田中</span>さん：　<span title="おかあさん - mother" class="popup">お母さん</span>は<span title="どこ - where" class="popup">どこ</span>です<em>か</em>。- Where is (your) mother?
<br /><span title="すずき - Suzuki" class="popup">鈴木</span>さん：　<span title="はは - mother" class="popup">母</span>は<span title="かいもの - shopping" class="popup">買い物</span>に<span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行きました</span>。- (My) mother went shopping.

<h3>Example 2</h3>
キムさん：　<span title="イタリア - Italy" class="popup">イタリア</span><span title="りょうり - dish, cuisine" class="popup">料理</span>を<span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べ</span>に<span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行きません</span><em>か</em>。 - Go to eat Italian food?
<br />鈴木さん：　<span title="すみません - sorry" class="popup">すみません</span>。<span title="ちょっと - a little" class="popup">ちょっと</span>、<span title="おなか - stomach" class="popup">お腹</span>が<span title="いっぱい - full" class="popup">いっぱい</span>です。- Sorry.  (My) stomach is a little full.

<p>Here the question is actually being used as an invitation just like how in English we say, "Won't you come in for a drink?"
「<span title="すみません - sorry" class="popup">すみません</span>」 is a polite way of apologizing.  Slightly less formal is 「<span title="ごめんなさい - sorry" class="popup">ごめんなさい</span>」 while the casual version is simply 「<span title="ごめん - sorry" class="popup">ごめん</span>」.
</p>

<h2 id="part2.question.html">The question marker in casual speech</h2>
It makes sense to conclude that the question marker would work in exactly the same way in casual speech as it does in polite speech.  However, this is <b>not</b> the case.
The question marker 「か」 is usually not used with casual speech to make actual questions. It is often used to consider whether something is true or not.
Depending on the context and intonation, it can also be used to make rhetorical questions or to express sarcasm.
It can sound quite rough so you might want to be careful about using 「か」 for questions in the plain casual form.

<h3>Examples</h3>

<p>
（１）　<span title="こんな - this sort of" class="popup">こんな</span>のを<span title="ほんとう - really" class="popup">本当</span>に<span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べる</span><em>か</em>？
<br />- Do you think [he/she] will really eat this type of thing?
</p>

<p>
（２）　<span title="そんな - that sort of" class="popup">そんな</span>のは、<span title="ある - to exist (inanimate)" class="popup">ある</span><em>か</em>よ！
<br />- Do I look like I would have something like that?!
</p>



Instead of 「か」, real questions in casual speech are usually asked with the <a href="particles3.html#part5.question.html">explanatory の particle</a>
or nothing at all except for a rise in intonation, as we have already seen in previous sections.

<p>
（１）　<span title="こんな - this sort of" class="popup">こんな</span>のを<span title="ほんとう - really" class="popup">本当</span>に<span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べる</span>？
<br />- Are you really going to eat something like this?
</p>

<p>
（２）　<span title="そんな - that sort of" class="popup">そんな</span>のは、<span title="ある - to exist (inanimate)" class="popup">ある</span><em>の</em>？
<br />- Do you have something like that?
</p>


<h2 id="part3.question.html">「か」 used in subordinate clauses</h2>
Another use of the question marker is simply grammatical and has nothing to do with the politeness.  A question marker attached to the end of
a subordinate clause makes a mini-question inside a larger sentence.  This allows the speaker to talk about the question.  For example, you can talk about
the question, "What did I eat today?"  In the following examples, the question that is being considered is in red.

<p>（１）　<em><span title="きのう - yesterday" class="popup">昨日</span><span title="なに - what" class="popup">何</span>を<span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べた</span>か</em><span title="わすれる - to forget" class="popup">忘れた</span>。- Forgot what I ate yesterday.
<br />（２）　<span title="かれ - he" class="popup">彼</span>は<em><span title="なに - what" class="popup">何</span>を<span title="いう - to say" class="popup">言った</span>か</em><span title="わかる - to understand" class="popup">わからない</span>。- Don't understand what he said.
<br />（３）　<em><span title="せんせい - teacher" class="popup">先生</span>が<span title="がっこう - school" class="popup">学校</span>に<span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行った</span>か</em><span title="おしえる - to teach" class="popup">教えない</span>？ - Won't you inform me whether teacher went to school?
</p>

<p>In sentences like （３） where the question being considered has a yes/no answer, it is common (but not necessary) to attach 「どうか」.
This is roughly equivalent to saying, "whether or not" in English.	You can also include the alternative as well to mean the same thing.
</p>
<p>
（１）　<span title="せんせい - teacher" class="popup">先生</span>が<span title="がっこう - school" class="popup">学校</span>に<span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行った</span>か<em><span title="どう - how" class="popup">どう</span>か</em><span title="しる - to know" class="popup">知らない</span>。- Don't know whether or not teacher went to school.
<br />（２）　<span title="せんせい - teacher" class="popup">先生</span>が<span title="がっこう - school" class="popup">学校</span>に<span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行った</span>か<em><span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行かなかった</span>か</em><span title="しる - to know" class="popup">知らない</span>。- Don't know whether teacher went to school or didn't.
</p>

<a name="part4.question.html"></a>
<h2 id="part4.question.html">Using question words</h2>
While we're on the topic of questions, this is a good time to go over question words (where, who, what, etc.) and what they mean in various
contexts.  Take a look at what adding the question marker does to the meaning of the words.
<p />
<center>
<table border="1" cellpadding="5">
<caption>Question Words</caption>
<tr align="center"><th>Word+Question Marker</th><th>Meaning</th></tr>
<tr align="center"><td><span title="だれ - who" class="popup">誰</span><em>か</em></td><td>Someone</td></tr>
<tr align="center"><td><span title="なに - what" class="popup">何</span><em>か</em></td><td>Something</td></tr>
<tr align="center"><td><span title="いつ - when" class="popup">いつ</span><em>か</em></td><td>Sometime</td></tr>
<tr align="center"><td><span title="どこ - where" class="popup">どこ</span><em>か</em></td><td>Somewhere</td></tr>
<tr align="center"><td><span title="どれ - which" class="popup">どれ</span><em>か</em></td><td>A certain one from many</td></tr>
</table>
</center>

<br />
As you can see by the following examples, you can treat these words just like any regular nouns.
<p>（１）　<em><span title="だれか - someone" class="popup">誰か</span></em>が<span title="おいしい - delicious" class="popup">おいしい</span><span title="クッキー - cookie" class="popup">クッキー</span>を<span title="ぜんぶ - all" class="popup">全部</span><span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べた</span>。- Someone ate all the delicious cookies.
<br />（２）　<span title="だれ - who" class="popup">誰</span>が<span title="ぬすむ - to steal" class="popup">盗んだ</span>のか、<em><span title="だれか - someone" class="popup">誰か</span></em><span title="しる - to know" class="popup">知りません</span>か。- Does anybody know who stole it?
<br />（３）　<span title="はんにん - criminal" class="popup">犯人</span>を<em><span title="どこか - somewhere" class="popup">どこか</span></em>で<span title="みる - to see" class="popup">見ました</span>か。- Did you see the criminal somewhere?
<br />（４）　<span title="この - this" class="popup">この</span><span title="なか - inside" class="popup">中</span>から<em><span title="どれか - whichever (one from many)" class="popup">どれか</span></em>を<span title="えらぶ - to select" class="popup">選ぶ</span>の。- (Explaining) You are to select a certain one from inside this [selection].
</p>


<h3>Question words with inclusive meaning</h3>
The same question words in the chart above can be combined with 「も」 in a negative sentence to mean "nobody" （<span title="だれも - nobody" class="popup">誰も</span>）, "nothing" （<span title="なにも - nothing" class="popup">何も</span>）, "nowhere" （<span title="どこも - everywhere" class="popup">どこも</span>）, etc.

<p>「<span title="だれも - nobody" class="popup">誰も</span>」 and 「<span title="なにも - nothing" class="popup">何も</span>」 are primarily used only for negative sentences.
Curiously, there is no way to say "everybody", and "everything" with question words. Instead, it is conventional to use other words like
「<span title="みんな - everybody" class="popup">みんな</span>／<span title="みなさん - everybody" class="popup">みなさん</span>」、
「<span title="ぜんぶ - all" class="popup">全部</span>」.
</p>

<p>
The remaining three words  「<span title="いつも - always" class="popup">いつも</span>」 (meaning "always")
and 「<span title="どれも - any and all" class="popup">どれも</span>」 (meaning "any and all"), and 「<span title="どこも - everywhere" class="popup">どこも</span>」 (meaning everywhere)
can be used in both negative and positive sentences.
</p>

<br />

<center>
<table border="1" cellpadding="5">
<caption>Inclusive Words</caption>
<tr align="center"><th>Word+も</th><th>Meaning</th></tr>
<tr align="center"><td><span title="だれ - who" class="popup">誰</span><em>も</em></td><td>Nobody (negative only)</td></tr>
<tr align="center"><td><span title="なに - what" class="popup">何</span><em>も</em></td><td>Nothing (negative only)</td></tr>
<tr align="center"><td><span title="いつ - when" class="popup">いつ</span><em>も</em></td><td>Always</td></tr>
<tr align="center"><td><span title="どこ - where" class="popup">どこ</span><em>も</em></td><td>Everywhere</td></tr>
<tr align="center"><td><span title="どれ - which" class="popup">どれ</span><em>も</em></td><td>Any and all</td></tr>
</table>
</center>

<p>
（１）　<span title="この - this" class="popup">この</span><span title="しつもん - question" class="popup">質問</span>の<span title="こたえ - answer" class="popup">答え</span>は、<em><span title="だれも - nobody" class="popup">誰も</span></em><span title="しる - to know" class="popup">知らない</span>。- Nobody knows the answer of this question.
<br />（２）　<span title="ともだち - friend" class="popup">友達</span>は<em><span title="いつも - always" class="popup">いつも</span></em><span title="おくれる - to be late" class="popup">遅れる</span>。 - Friend is always late.
<br />（３）　<span title="ここ - here" class="popup">ここ</span>に<span title="ある - to exist (inanimate)" class="popup">ある</span><span title="レストラン - restaurant" class="popup">レストラン</span>は<em><span title="どれも - any and all" class="popup">どれも</span></em><span title="おいしい - tasty" class="popup">おいしくない</span> - Any and all restaurants that are here are not tasty.
<br />（４）　<span title="こんしゅうまつ - this weekend" class="popup">今週末</span>は、<em><span title="どこにも - nowhere" class="popup">どこにも</span></em><span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行かなかった</span>。- Went nowhere this weekend.
</p>
<p>
(Grammatically, this 「も」 is the same as the topic particle 「も」 so the target particle 「に」 must go before the topic particle 「も」 in ordering.)
</p>

<h3>Question words to mean "any"</h3>
The same question words combined with 「でも」 can be used to mean "any". One thing to be careful about is that
「<span title="なんでも - anything" class="popup">何でも</span>」 is read as 「なんでも」 and <i>not</i> 「なにでも」

<br />
<br />
<center>
<table border="1" cellpadding="5">
<caption>Words for "Any"</caption>
<tr align="center"><th>Word+でも</th><th>Meaning</th></tr>
<tr align="center"><td><span title="だれ - who" class="popup">誰</span><em>でも</em></td><td>Anybody</td></tr>
<tr align="center"><td><span title="なに - what" class="popup">何</span><em>でも</em></td><td>Anything</td></tr>
<tr align="center"><td><span title="いつ - when" class="popup">いつ</span><em>でも</em></td><td>Anytime</td></tr>
<tr align="center"><td><span title="どこ - where" class="popup">どこ</span><em>でも</em></td><td>Anywhere</td></tr>
<tr align="center"><td><span title="どれ - which" class="popup">どれ</span><em>でも</em></td><td>Whichever</td></tr>
</table>
</center>

<p>
（１）　<span title="この - this" class="popup">この</span><span title="しつもん - question" class="popup">質問</span>の<span title="こたえ - answer" class="popup">答え</span>は、<em><span title="だれでも - anybody" class="popup">誰でも</span></em><span title="わかる - to understand" class="popup">分かる</span>。- Anybody understands the answer of this question.
<br />（２）　<span title="ひるごはん - lunch" class="popup">昼ご飯</span>は、<em><span title="どこでも - anywhere" class="popup">どこでも</span></em><span title="いい - good" class="popup">いい</span>です。- About lunch, anywhere is good.
<br />（３）　<span title="あの - that (over there)" class="popup">あの</span><span title="ひと - person" class="popup">人</span>は、<span title="ほんとう - really" class="popup">本当</span>に<em><span title="なんでも - anything" class="popup">何でも</span></em><span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べる</span>。- That person really eats anything.
</p>

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<p class="copyright">Copyright &copy; 2003-2007 Tae Kim (taekim.japanese AT gmail.com)</p>
<p>
<a href="http://www.guidetojapanese.org/forum/viewforum.php?id=18">Report a correction or suggestion for this page</a>
</p>
</div>

<div class="small" style="text-align:right;"><pre>This page has last been revised on 2005/9/9
Edited exception for いつも and added どれ to question words (2005/6/12)
Corrected どこも to mean everywhere (2005/6/13)
Added more detail about using 「か」 for plain form (2005/9/9)
</pre></div>

<br class="break"/>
<h1>Intrinsically Intricate</h1>

<br /><br /><br />

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
<tr><td>
<div class="outline">
<!-- outline menu -->
<center><span class="summary">Outline</span></center>
<ol>
<li><a href="#part1.compound.html">Compound Sentences</a></li>
<li><a href="#part2.compound.html">Expressing a sequence of states</a></li>
<li><a href="#part3.compound.html">Expressing a sequence of verbs with the te-form</a></li>
<li><a href="#part4.compound.html">Expressing reason or causation using 「から」 and 「ので」</a></li>
<li><a href="#part5.compound.html">Using 「のに」 to mean "despite"</a></li>
<li><a href="#part6.compound.html">Expressing contradiction using 「が」 and 「けど」</a></li>
<li><a href="#part7.compound.html">Expressing multiple reasons using 「し」</a></li>
<li><a href="#part8.compound.html">Expressing multiple actions or states using 「～たりする」</a></li>
</ol>
</div>
</td></tr>
</table>

<h2 id="part1.compound.html">Compound Sentences</h2>
In this section, we will learn various ways to combine multiple simple sentences into one complex sentence.
For example, we will learn how to chain separate sentences together to express multiple actions or states.  In other words, if we have two
simple sentences with the same subject, "I ran" and "I ate", we will learn how to group them together to mean, "I ran and ate."  We will also learn
how to do this with adjectives and nouns. (Ex: He is rich, handsome, and charming.)

<h2 id="part2.compound.html">Expressing a sequence of states</h2>
It is very easy to combine a chain of nouns and adjectives to describe a person or object.  For example, in English if we wanted to say, "He is
X.  He is Y.  He is Z." since all three sentences have the same noun, we would usually say, "He is X, Y, and Z." In Japanese, we can do the same
thing by conjugating the noun or adjective.  The last noun or adjective remains the same as before.

<div class="sumbox">
<span class="summary">How to chain nouns and adjectives together</span>
<ul class="plain">
<li><b>Nouns and na-adjectives</b>: Attach 「で」 to the noun or na-adjective.</li>
<li>例）　<span title="いっぱんてき - in general" class="popup">一般的</span> → <span title="いっぱんてき - in general" class="popup">一般的</span><em>で</em></li>
<li>例）　<span title="しずか - quiet" class="popup">静か</span> → <span title="しずか - quiet" class="popup">静か</span><em>で</em></li>
<li><br /><b>I-adjectives and negative noun/adjective</b>: Replace the 「い」 with 「くて」.
<br />※For 「<span title="いい - good" class="popup">いい</span>」 and 「<span title="かっこいい - good-looking, cool" class="popup">かっこいい</span>」, the <a href="adjectives.html#part4.compound.html">「い→よ」</a> exception applies here as well.</li>
<li>例）　<span title="せまい - narrow" class="popup">狭<em><strike>い</strike></em></span> → <span title="せまい - narrow" class="popup">狭<em>くて</em></span></li>
<li>例）　<span title="かのじょ - she, girlfriend" class="popup">彼女</span>じゃな<em><strike>い</strike></em> → <span title="かのじょ - she, girlfriend" class="popup">彼女</span>じゃな<em>くて</em></li>
<li>例）　<span title="いい - good" class="popup"><em><strike>いい</strike></em></span> → <span title="いい - good" class="popup"><em>よくて</em></span></li>
</ul>
</div>

<h3>Examples</h3>

<p>
（１）　<span title="わたし - me, myself, I" class="popup">私</span>の<span title="へや - room" class="popup">部屋</span>は、<span title="きれい - neat, pretty" class="popup">きれい</span><em>で</em>、<span title="しずか - quiet" class="popup">静か</span><em>で</em>、<span title="とても - very" class="popup">とても</span><span title="すき - like" class="popup">好き</span>。
<br />- My room is clean, quiet, and I like it a lot.
</p>

<p>
（２）　<span title="かのじょ - she, girlfriend" class="popup">彼女</span>は、<span title="がくせい - student" class="popup">学生</span>じゃな<em>くて</em>、<span title="せんせい - teacher" class="popup">先生</span>だ。
<br />- She is not a student, she is a teacher.
</p>

<p>
（３）　<span title="たなか - Tanaka" class="popup">田中</span>さんは、<span title="おかねもち - rich" class="popup">お金持ち</span><em>で</em>、<span title="かっこいい - cool, handsome" class="popup">かっこ<em>よくて</em></span>、<span title="みりょくてき - charming" class="popup">魅力的</span>ですね。
<br />- Tanaka-san is rich, handsome, and charming, isn't he?
</p>

<p>
As you can see, the 「で」 attached to 「お金持ち」 obviously cannot be the <a href="particles2.html#part5.compound.html">context particle</a> 「で」 here because there is no verb. It might be helpful to think of 「で」 as merely a substitution for 「だ」 that can be chained together.</p>

<h2 id="part3.compound.html">Expressing a sequence of verbs with the te-form</h2>
In a similar fashion, you can express multiple actions.  It is usually interpreted as a sequence of event.  (I did [X], then I did [Y], then I finally did [Z].)
There are two forms: positive and negative.  The tense of all the actions is determined by the tense of the last verb.

<div class="sumbox">
<span class="summary">How to chain verbs together</span>
<ol>
<li>Positive: Conjugate the verb to its <a href="pastverb.html">past tense</a> and replace 「た」 with 「て」 or 「だ」 with 「で」.
This is often called the <b><i>te-form</i></b> even though it could sometimes be 'de' .</li>
<li>Negative: Same as i-adjectives, replace 「い」 with 「くて」.</li>
</ol>
<ul class="plain">
<li>This rule also works for the polite 「です」 and 「ます」 endings.</li>
<li>例）　<span title="がくせい - student" class="popup">学生</span>で<em><strike>す</strike></em> → <span title="がくせい - student" class="popup">学生</span><em>でし<strike>た</strike></em> → <span title="がくせい - student" class="popup">学生</span>でし<em>て</em></li>
<li>例）　<span title="かう - to buy" class="popup">買いま<em><strike>す</strike></em></span> → <span title="かう - to buy" class="popup">買いま<em>し<strike>た</strike></em></span> → <span title="かう - to buy" class="popup">買いまし<em>て</em></span></li>
</ul>
</div>

<center>
<table border="0">
<caption>Sample conjugations</caption>
<tr>

<td>
<table border="1" cellpadding="5">

<tr><th>Past Tense</th><th>Te-form</th></tr>

<tr align="center">
<td><span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べ<em>た</em></span></td>
<td><span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べ<em>て</em></span></td>
</tr>

<tr align="center">
<td><span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行っ<em>た</em></span></td>
<td><span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行っ<em>て</em></span></td>
</tr>

<tr align="center">
<td><span title="する - to do" class="popup">し<em>た</em></span></td>
<td><span title="する - to do" class="popup">し<em>て</em></span></td>
</tr>

<tr align="center">
<td><span title="あそぶ - to play" class="popup">遊ん<em>だ</em></span></td>
<td><span title="あそぶ - to play" class="popup">遊ん<em>で</em></span></td>
</tr>

<tr align="center">
<td><span title="のむ - to drink" class="popup">飲ん<em>だ</em></span></td>
<td><span title="のむ - to drink" class="popup">飲ん<em>で</em></span></td>
</tr>

</table>
</td>

<td rowspan="2">
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
</td>

<td valign="top">
<table border="1" cellpadding="5">

<tr><th>Negative</th><th>Te-form</th></tr>

<tr align="center">
<td><span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べな<em>い</em></span></td>
<td><span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べな<em>くて</em></span></td>
</tr>

<tr align="center">
<td><span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行かな<em>い</em></span></td>
<td><span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行かな<em>くて</em></span></td>
</tr>

<tr align="center">
<td><span title="する - to do" class="popup">しな<em>い</em></span></td>
<td><span title="する - to do" class="popup">しな<em>くて</em></span></td>
</tr>

<tr align="center">
<td><span title="あそぶ - to play" class="popup">遊ばな<em>い</em></span></td>
<td><span title="あそぶ - to play" class="popup">遊ばな<em>くて</em></span></td>
</tr>

<tr align="center">
<td><span title="のむ - to drink" class="popup">飲まな<em>い</em></span></td>
<td><span title="のむ - to drink" class="popup">飲まな<em>くて</em></span></td>

</tr>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</center>

<h3>Examples</h3>

<p>
（１）　<span title="しょくどう - cafeteria" class="popup">食堂</span>に<em><span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行って</span></em>、<span title="ひるごはん - lunch" class="popup">昼ご飯</span>を<em><span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べて</span></em>、<span title="ひるね - afternoon nap" class="popup">昼寝</span>を<span title="する - to do" class="popup">する</span>。
<br />- I will go to cafeteria, eat lunch, and take a nap.
</p>

<p>
（２）　<span title="しょくどう - cafeteria" class="popup">食堂</span>に<em><span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行って</span></em>、<span title="ひるごはん - lunch" class="popup">昼ご飯</span>を<em><span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べて</span></em>、<span title="ひるね - afternoon nap" class="popup">昼寝</span>を<span title="する - to do" class="popup">した</span>。
<br />- I went to cafeteria, ate lunch, and took a nap.
</p>

<p>
（３）　<span title="じかん - time" class="popup">時間</span>が<em><span title="ある - to exist (inanimate)" class="popup">ありまして</span></em>、<span title="えいが - movie" class="popup">映画</span>を<span title="みる - to see" class="popup">見ました</span>。
<br />- There was time and I watched a movie.
</p>

<h2 id="part4.compound.html">Expressing reason or causation using 「から」 and 「ので」</h2>
You can connect two complete sentences using 「から」 to indicate a reason for something.  The two sentences are always ordered
[reason] から [result].
When the reason is a non-conjugated noun or na-adjective, you <em>must</em> add 「だ」 to explicitly declare the reason in the form of
「(noun/na-adjective)<em>だ</em>から」.
If you forget to add the declarative 「だ」 to 「から」, it will end up sounding like the 「から」 meaning "from" which was first introduced in
<a href="particles2.html#part3.compound.html">Particles 2</a>.

<h3>Examples</h3>

<p>
（１）　<span title="じかん - time" class="popup">時間</span>が<span title="ある - to exist (inanimate)" class="popup">なかった</span><em>から</em><span title="パーティー - party" class="popup">パーティーに</span><span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行きませんでした</span>。
<br />- There was no time so didn't go to party.
</p>

<p>
（２）　<span title="ともだち - friend" class="popup">友達</span><em>から</em><span title="プレゼント - present" class="popup">プレゼント</span>が<span title="くる - to come" class="popup">来た</span>。
<br />- Present came <em>from</em> friend.
</p>

<p>
（３）　<span title="ともだち - friend" class="popup">友達</span><em>だから</em><span title="プレゼント - present" class="popup">プレゼント</span>が<span title="くる - to come" class="popup">来た</span>。
<br />- Present came <em>because</em> (the person is) friend. (This sentence sounds a bit odd.)
</p>

<p>Either the reason or the cause can be omitted if it is clear from the context.  In the case of polite speech, you would treat 「から」
just like a regular noun and add 「です」.  When you omit the reason, you must include the declarative 「だ」 or 「です」.
</p>
<p><span title="たなか - Tanaka" class="popup">田中</span>さん）　<span title="どうして - why" class="popup">どうして</span><span title="パーティー - party" class="popup">パーティー</span>に<span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行きませんでしたか</span>。- Why didn't you go to the party?
<br /><span title="やまだ - Yamada" class="popup">山田</span>さん）　<span title="じかん - time" class="popup">時間</span>が<span title="ある - to exist (inanimate)" class="popup">なかった</span><em>から</em>です。- It's because I didn't have time.
</p>
<p><span title="いちろう - Ichiro" class="popup">一郎</span>）　<span title="パーティー - party" class="popup">パーティー</span>に<span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行かなかった</span>の？- You didn't go to the party?
<br /><span title="なおこ - Naoko" class="popup">直子</span>）　うん、<span title="じかん - time" class="popup">時間</span>が<span title="ある - to exist (inanimate)" class="popup">なかった</span><em>から</em>。- Yeah, because I didn't have time.
</p>

<p>（１）　<span title="じかん - time" class="popup">時間</span>が<span title="ある - to exist (inanimate)" class="popup">なかった</span>。- I didn't have time.
<br />（２）　<em>だから</em><span title="パーティー - party" class="popup">パーティー</span>に<span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行かなかった</span>の？ - Is that why you didn't go to the party.
</p>

<p>Notice that <span title="やまだ - Yamada" class="popup">山田</span>さん and <span title="なおこ - Naoko" class="popup">直子</span> could have used the <a href="particles3.html#part5.compound.html">explanatory 「の」</a>
to express the same thing.  In other words, <span title="やまだ - Yamada" class="popup">山田</span>さん could have also said,
「<span title="じかん - time" class="popup">時間</span>が<span title="ある - to exist (inanimate)" class="popup">なかった</span>のです」 or 「<span title="じかん - time" class="popup">時間</span>が<span title="ある - to exist (inanimate)" class="popup">なかった</span>んです」 while <span title="なおこ - Naoko" class="popup">直子</span> could have said 「<span title="じかん - time" class="popup">時間</span>が<span title="ある - to exist (inanimate)" class="popup">なかった</span>の」 (we'll assume she wants to use
the more feminine form).  In fact, this is where 「ので」 possibly came from.  Let's say you want to combine two sentences:
「<span title="じかん - time" class="popup">時間</span>が<span title="ある - to exist (inanimate)" class="popup">なかった</span>のだ」 and 「<span title="パーティー - party" class="popup">パーティー</span>に<span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行かなかった</span>」.  Remember we can treat the 「の」 just like a noun so we can use what we just learned in the
first section of this lesson.
</p>
<p>（１）　<span title="じかん - time" class="popup">時間</span>が<span title="ある - to exist (inanimate)" class="popup">なかった</span>のだ＋<span title="パーティー - party" class="popup">パーティー</span>に<span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行かなかった</span>
<br />becomes:
<br />（２）　<span title="じかん - time" class="popup">時間</span>が<span title="ある - to exist (inanimate)" class="popup">なかった</span><em>ので</em><span title="パーティー - party" class="popup">パーティー</span>に<span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行かなかった</span>。
</p>

<p>In fact, 「ので」 is almost interchangeable with 「から」 with a few subtle differences.  「から」 explicitly states that the sentence
preceding is the reason for something while 「ので」 is merely putting two sentences together, the first with an explanatory tone.  This is something
I call causation where [X] happened, therefore [Y] happened.  This is slightly different from 「から」 where [Y] happened explicitly <i>because</i>
 [X] happened.  This difference tends to make 「ので」 sound softer and slighter more polite and it is favored over 「から」 when explaining a reason for
doing something that is considered discourteous.
</p>

<p>（１）　<span title="ちょっと - little" class="popup">ちょっと</span><span title="いそがしい - busy" class="popup">忙しい</span><em>ので</em>、<span title="そろそろ - gradually, soon" class="popup">そろそろ</span><span title="しつれい - discourtesy" class="popup">失礼</span><span title="する - to do" class="popup">します</span>。
<br />- Because I'm a little busy, I'll be making my leave soon.
<br />（「<span title="しつれい - discourtesy" class="popup">失礼</span><span title="する - to do" class="popup">します</span>」, which literally means "I'm doing a discourtesy", is commonly used as a polite way to make your leave or
disturb someone's time.）
</p>

<p><b>Reminder:</b> Don't forget that the explanatory 「の」 requires a 「な」 for both non-conjugated nouns and na-adjectives.  Review
<a href="particles3.html#part5.compound.html">Particles 3</a> to see why.
</p>

<p>
（１）　<span title="わたし - me, myself, I" class="popup">私</span>は<span title="がくせい - student" class="popup">学生</span><em>な</em>ので、<span title="おかね - money" class="popup">お金</span>が<span title="ある - to exist (inanimate)" class="popup">ない</span>んです。
<br />- Because I'm a student, I have no money (lit: there is no money).
</p>

<p>
（２）　<span title="ここ - here" class="popup">ここ</span>は<span title="しずか - quiet" class="popup">静か</span><em>な</em>ので、<span title="とても - very" class="popup">とても</span><span title="おだやか - calm, peaceful" class="popup">穏やか</span>です。
<br />- It is very calm here because it is quiet.
</p>

<p>
（３）　<em>な</em>ので、<span title="ともだち - friend" class="popup">友達</span>に<span title="あう - to meet" class="popup">会う</span><span title="じかん - time" class="popup">時間</span>が<span title="ある - to exist (inanimate)" class="popup">ない</span>。
<br />- That's why there's no time to meet friend.
</p>

<p>
Just like how the explanatory 「の」 can be shortened to 「ん」, in speech, the 「ので」 can be changed to 「んで」 simply because it's easier to slur the sounds
together rather then pronouncing the / o / syllable.
</p>

<p>
（１）　<span title="じかん - time" class="popup">時間</span>が<span title="ある - to exist (inanimate)" class="popup">なかった</span><em>んで</em><span title="パーティー - party" class="popup">パーティー</span>に<span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行かなかった</span>。
<br />- Didn't go to the party because there was no time.
</p>

<p>
（２）　<span title="ここ - here" class="popup">ここ</span>は<span title="しずか - quiet" class="popup">静か</span>な<em>んで</em>、<span title="とても - very" class="popup">とても</span><span title="おだやか - calm, peaceful" class="popup">穏やか</span>です。
<br />- It is very calm here because it is quiet.
</p>

<p>
（３）　<em>なんで</em>、<span title="ともだち - friend" class="popup">友達</span>に<span title="あう - to meet" class="popup">会う</span><span title="じかん - time" class="popup">時間</span>が<span title="ある - to exist (inanimate)" class="popup">ない</span>。
<br />- That's why there's no time to meet friend.
</p>

<h2 id="part5.compound.html">Using 「のに」 to mean "despite"</h2>
Grammatically, 「のに」 is used exactly the same way as 「ので」.  When used to combine two simple sentences together, it means "[Sentence 1]
despite the fact that [Sentence 2]."  However the order is reversed: [Sentence 2]のに[Sentence 1].

<h3>Examples</h3>

<p>（１）　<span title="まいにち - every day" class="popup">毎日</span><span title="うんどう - exercise" class="popup">運動</span><span title="する - to do" class="popup">した</span><em>のに</em>、<span title="ぜんぜん - not at all" class="popup">全然</span><span title="やせる - to become thin" class="popup">痩せなかった</span>。
<br />- Despite exercising every day, I didn't get thinner.
</p>

<p>
（２）　<span title="がくせい - student" class="popup">学生</span>な<em>のに</em>、<span title="かのじょ - she, girlfriend" class="popup">彼女</span>は<span title="べんきょう - study" class="popup">勉強</span><span title="する - to do" class="popup">しない</span>。
<br />- Despite being a student, she does not study.
</p>

<h2 id="part6.compound.html">Expressing contradiction using 「が」 and 「けど」</h2>
Used in the same manner as 「から」 and 「ので」, 「が」 and 「けど」 also connect two sentences together but this time to express a contradiction.
Just like 「から」 the declarative 「だ」 is required for nouns and na-adjectives.  And just like 「から」 and 「ので」, the reason or cause can be left out.

<h3>Examples</h3>

<p>
（１）　<span title="デパート - department store" class="popup">デパート</span>に<span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行きました</span><em>が</em>、<span title="なにも - nothing" class="popup">何も</span><span title="ほしい - desirable" class="popup">欲しくなかった</span>です。
<br />- I went to department store but there was nothing I wanted.
</p>

<p>
（２）　<span title="ともだち - friend" class="popup">友達</span>に<span title="きく - to listen, to ask" class="popup">聞いた</span><em>けど</em>、<span title="しる - to know" class="popup">知らなかった</span>。
<br />- I asked (or heard from) a friend but he (or I) didn't know.
</p>

<p>
（３）　<span title="きょう - today" class="popup">今日</span>は<span title="ひま - free, leisure" class="popup">暇</span><em>だけど</em>、<span title="あした - tomorrow" class="popup">明日</span>は<span title="いそがしい - busy" class="popup">忙しい</span>。
<br />- I'm free today but I will be busy tomorrow.
</p>

<p>
（４）　<em>だけど</em>、<span title="かれ - he" class="popup">彼</span>が<span title="まだ - yet" class="popup">まだ</span><span title="すき - like" class="popup">好き</span>なの。
<br />- That may be so, but it is that I still like him. (explanation, feminine tone)
</p>

<p>
It may seem odd but 「<span title="きく - to listen, to ask" class="popup">聞く</span>」 can either mean "to listen" or "to ask".  You
may think this may become confusing but the meaning is usually clear within context.  In （２）、 we're assuming that the friend didn't know, so the
speaker was probably asking the friend.  Yet again we see the importance of context in Japanese because this sentence can also mean, "I heard
from a friend but I didn't know" since there is neither subject nor topic.
</p>

<p>Similar to the difference between 「から」 and 「ので」, 「が」 has a softer tone and is slighter more polite than 「けど」.
Though this isn't a rule as such, it is generally common to see 「が」 attached to a 「～ます」 or 「～です」 ending and 「けど」 attached to a regular,
plain ending.  A more formal version of 「けど」 is 「けれど」 and even more formal is 「けれども」, which we may see later when we cover formal
expressions.
</p>

<p>Unlike the English word for contradiction such as "but" or "however", 「けど」 and 「が」 do not always express a direct contradiction.
Often times, especially when introducing a new topic, it is used as a general connector of two separate sentences.  For example, in the following sentences, there is no actual
contradiction but 「が」 and 「けど」 are used simply to connect the sentences.  Sometimes, the English "and" becomes a closer translation
than "but".
</p>

<p>（１）　<span title="デパート - department store" class="popup">デパート</span>に<span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行きました</span><em>が</em>、<span title="いい - good" class="popup">いい</span><span title="もの - object" class="popup">物</span>が<span title="たくさん - a lot" class="popup">たくさん</span><span title="ある - to exist (inanimate)" class="popup">ありました</span>。
<br />- I went to the department store and there was a lot of good stuff.
</p>

<p>
（２）　<span title="マトリックス - matrix" class="popup">マトリックス</span>を<span title="みる - to see" class="popup">見た</span><em>けど</em>、<span title="おもしろい - interesting" class="popup">面白かった</span>。
<br />- I watched the "Matrix" and it was interesting.
</p>

<h2 id="part7.compound.html">Expressing multiple reasons using 「し」</h2>
When you want to list reasons for multiple states or actions you can do so
by adding 「し」 to the end of each subordinate clause.  It is very similar to the 「や」 particle except that it lists reasons for verbs and state of being.
Again, for states of being,  「だ」 must be used to explicitly declared for any non-conjugated noun or na-adjective.
Let's look at some examples.

<p>（１）　<span title="どうして - why" class="popup">どうして</span><span title="ともだち - friend" class="popup">友達</span>じゃないんですか？- Why isn't him/her friend (seeking explanation)?
<br />（２）　<span title="せんせい - teacher" class="popup">先生</span><em>だし</em>、<span title="としうえ - older" class="popup">年上</span><em>だし</em>・・・。- Well, he's/she's the teacher, and older...
</p>

<p>（１）　<span title="どうして - why" class="popup">どうして</span><span title="かれ - he" class="popup">彼</span>が<span title="すき - like" class="popup">好き</span>なの？- Why (do you) like him?
<br />（２）　<span title="やさしい - gentle, kind" class="popup">優しい</span><em>し</em>、<span title="かっこいい - cool, handsome" class="popup">かっこいい</span><em>し</em>、<span title="おもしろい - interesting" class="popup">面白い</span>から。- Because he's kind, attractive, and interesting (among other things).
</p>

<p>Notice that 「<span title="やさしい - gentle, kind" class="popup">優しくて</span>、<span title="かっこいい - cool, handsome" class="popup">かっこよくて</span>、<span title="おもしろい - interesting" class="popup">面白い</span>から。」 could also have worked but much like the difference between the 「と」 and 「や」 particle, 「し」
implies that there may be other reasons.
</p>

<h2 id="part8.compound.html">Expressing multiple actions or states using 「～たりする」</h2>
This is the verb version of the 「や」 particle.  You can make an example list of verbs among a possible larger list by conjugating each verb into the past tense and adding 「り」.
At the end, you need to attach the verb 「<span title="する - to do" class="popup">する</span>」.  Just like the 「や」 particle, the tense is determined by the last verb, which in this case will
always be 「<span title="する - to do" class="popup">する</span>」 (since you have to attach it at the end).

<p>You can also use this with the state of being to say that you are
a number of things at various random times among a larger list. Similar to regular verbs, you just take the noun or adjective for each state of being and conjugate it to the past state of being
and then attach 「り」. Then finally, attach 「<span title="する - to do" class="popup">する</span>」 at the end.
</p>

<div class="sumbox">
<span class="summary">Rules for stating a list of verbs among a larger list using 「～たりする」</span>
<ul>
<li>Verbs - Conjugate each verb to the <a href="pastverb.html">past tense</a> and add 「り」. Finally, add 「する」 at the very end.
<br />例) <span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べ<em><strike>る</strike></em></span>、<span title="のむ - to drink" class="popup">飲<em><strike>む</strike></em></span> → <span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べ<em>た</em></span>、<span title="のむ - to drink" class="popup">飲<em>んだ</em></span> → <span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べた<em>り</em></span>、<span title="のむ - to drink" class="popup">飲んだ<em>り</em></span> → <span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べたり</span>、<span title="のむ - to drink" class="popup">飲んだり</span><em><span title="する - to do" class="popup">する</span></em></li>
<li>State of being - Conjugate the noun or adjective for each state of being and add 「り」. Finally, add 「する」 at the very end.
<br />例) <span title="かんたん - simple" class="popup">簡単</span>、<span title="むずかしい - difficult" class="popup">難し<em><strike>い</strike></em></span> → <span title="かんたん - simple" class="popup">簡単</span><em>だった</em>、<span title="むずかしい - difficult" class="popup">難し<em>かった</em></span> → <span title="かんたん - simple" class="popup">簡単</span>だった<em>り</em>、<span title="むずかしい - difficult" class="popup">難しかった<em>り</em></span> → <span title="かんたん - simple" class="popup">簡単</span>だったり、<span title="むずかしい - difficult" class="popup">難しかったり</span><em><span title="する - to do" class="popup">する</span></em></li>
</ul>
</div>

<p>（１）　<span title="えいが - movie" class="popup">映画</span>を<em><span title="みる - to see" class="popup">見たり</span></em>、<span title="ほん - book" class="popup">本</span>を<em><span title="読む - to read" class="popup">読んだり</span></em>、<em><span title="ひるね - afternoon nap" class="popup">昼寝</span><span title="する - to do" class="popup">したり</span></em>する。
<br />- I do things like (among other things) watch movies, read books, and take naps.
</p>

<p>
（２）　<span title="この - this" class="popup">この</span><span title="だいがく - college" class="popup">大学</span>の<span title="じゅぎょう - class" class="popup">授業</span>は<span title="かんたん - simple" class="popup">簡単</span><em>だったり</em>、<em><span title="むずかしい - difficult" class="popup">難しかったり</span></em><span title="する - to do" class="popup">する</span>。
<br />- Class of this college is sometimes easy, sometimes difficult (and other times something else maybe).
</p>

<p>As you can see, the tense and negative/positive state is controlled by the last 「<span title="する - to do" class="popup">する</span>」.</p>

<p>
（３）　<span title="えいが - movie" class="popup">映画</span>を<span title="みる - to see" class="popup">見たり</span>、<span title="ほん - book" class="popup">本</span>を<span title="読む - to read" class="popup">読んだり</span><em><span title="する - to do" class="popup">した</span></em>。
<br />- I <em>did</em> things like (among other things) watch movies, and read books.
</p>

<p>
（４）　<span title="えいが - movie" class="popup">映画</span>を<span title="みる - to see" class="popup">見たり</span>、<span title="ほん - book" class="popup">本</span>を<span title="読む - to read" class="popup">読んだり</span><em><span title="する - to do" class="popup">しない</span></em>。
<br />- I <em>don't do</em> things like (among other things) watch movies, and read books.
</p>

<p>
（５）　<span title="えいが - movie" class="popup">映画</span>を<span title="みる - to see" class="popup">見たり</span>、<span title="ほん - book" class="popup">本</span>を<span title="読む - to read" class="popup">読んだり</span><em><span title="する - to do" class="popup">しなかった</span></em>。
<br />- I <em>didn't do</em> things like (among other things) watch movies, and read books.
</p>

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<p class="copyright">Copyright &copy; 2003-2007 Tae Kim (taekim.japanese AT gmail.com)</p>
<p>
<a href="http://www.guidetojapanese.org/forum/viewforum.php?id=18">Report a correction or suggestion for this page</a>
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<div class="small" style="text-align:right;"><pre>This page has last been revised on 2006/3/16
Clarified 「よくて」 exception to rules (2006/3/16)</pre></div>

<br class="break"/>
<h1>Gosh Darn! I knew I learned this for some reason!</h1>

<br /><br /><br />

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
<tr><td>
<div class="outline">
<!-- outline menu -->
<center><span class="summary">Outline</span></center>
<ol>
<li><a href="#part1.enduring.html">Other uses of the te-form</a></li>
<li><a href="#part2.enduring.html">Using 「～ている」 for enduring states</a></li>
<li><a href="#part3.enduring.html">Enduring state of being rather than enduring state of action</a></li>
<li><a href="#part4.enduring.html">Using 「～てある」 for resultant states</a></li>
<li><a href="#part5.enduring.html">Using the 「～ておく」 form as preparation for the future</a></li>
<li><a href="#part6.enduring.html">Using motion verbs （行く、来る） with the te-form</a></li>
</ol>
</div>
</td></tr>
</table>


<h2 id="part1.enduring.html">Other uses of the te-form</h2>
The te-form is incredibly useful as it is used widely in many different types of grammatical expressions.
We will learn about enduring states with the 「～ている」 and 「～てある」 form.
Even though we have learned various conjugations for verbs, they have all been one-time actions.  We will now go over how one would say, for example,
"I <u>am</u> running."  We will also learn how to perform an action for the future using the 「～ておく」 expression and to express directions of actions using
「～ていく」 and 「～てくる」.

<h2 id="part2.enduring.html">Using 「～ている」 for enduring states</h2>
We already know how to express a state of being using 「です」, 「だ」, etc.  However, it only indicates a one-time thing; you are something or not.
This grammar, however, describes a continuing state of an action verb.
This usually translates to the gerund in English except for a few exceptions, which we will examine later.  We can make good use of the te-form
we learned in the last section because the only thing to do left to do is add 「<span title="いる - to exist (animate)" class="popup">いる</span>」!
You can then treat the result as a regular ru-verb.

<p>This 「<span title="いる - to exist (animate)" class="popup">いる</span>」 is the same ru-verb describing existence, first described in the <a href="negverb.html#part2.enduring.html">negative
verb section</a>. However, in this case, you don't have to worry about whether the subject is animate or inanimate. </p>

<div class="sumbox">
<span class="summary">Using 「～ている」 for enduring states</span>
<ul class="plain">
<li>To describe a continuing action, first conjugate the verb to the te-form and then attach the verb 「いる」.  The entire result conjugates as a ru-verb.</li>
<li>例）　<span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べ<em><strike>る</strike></em></span> → <span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べ<em>て</em></span> → <span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べて</span><em>いる</em></li>
<li>例）　<span title="よむ - to read" class="popup">読<em><strike>む</strike></em></span> → <span title="よむ - to read" class="popup">読ん<em>で</em></span> → <span title="よむ - to read" class="popup">読んで</span><em>いる</em></li>
</ul>

<center>
<table border="1" cellpadding="5">
<caption>The result conjugates as a ru-verb regardless of what the original verb is</caption>
<tr align="center"><th></th><th colspan="2">Positive</th><th colspan="2">Negative</th></tr>
<tr align="center"><th>Non-Past</th><td><span title="よむ - to read" class="popup">読んで</span><em>いる</em></td><td>reading</td><td><span title="よむ - to read" class="popup">読んで</span><em>いない</em></td><td>is not reading</td></tr>

<tr align="center"><th>Past</th><td><span title="よむ - to read" class="popup">読んで</span><em>いた</em></td><td>was reading</td><td><span title="よむ - to read" class="popup">読んで</span><em>いなかった</em></td><td>was not reading</td></tr>

</table>
</center>

</div>


<h3>Examples</h3>

<p>（１）　<span title="ともだち - friend" class="popup">友達</span>は<span title="なに - what" class="popup">何</span>を<span title="する - to do" class="popup">し<em>ている</em></span>の？- What is friend doing?
<br />（２）　<span title="ひるごはん - lunch" class="popup">昼ご飯</span>を<span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べ<em>ている</em></span>。- (Friend) is eating lunch.
</p>

<p>Note that once you've changed it into a regular ru-verb, you can do all the normal conjugations.  The examples show the masu-form and plain
negative conjugations.</p>


<p>（１）　<span title="なに - what" class="popup">何</span>を<span title="よむ - to read" class="popup">読ん<em>でいる</em></span>？- What are you reading?
<br />（２）　<span title="きょうかしょ - textbook" class="popup">教科書</span>を<span title="よむ - to read" class="popup">読ん<em>でいます</em></span>。- I am reading textbook.
</p>

<p>（１）　<span title="はなし - story" class="popup">話</span>を<span title="きく - to listen, to ask" class="popup">聞い<em>ていますか</em></span>。- Are you listening to me? (lit: Are you listening to story?)
<br />（２）　<span title="ううん - no" class="popup">ううん</span>、<span title="きく - to listen, to ask" class="popup">聞い<em>ていない</em></span>。- No, I'm not listening.
</p>

<p>Since people are usually too lazy to roll their tongues
 to properly pronounce the 「い」, in more casual situations, the 「い」 is simply dropped.  This is a convenience for speaking.  If you were
writing an essay or paper, you should always include the 「い」.  Here are the abbreviated versions of the previous examples.
</p>

<p>（１）　<span title="ともだち - friend" class="popup">友達</span>は<span title="なに - what" class="popup">何</span>を<span title="する - to do" class="popup">し<em>てる</em></span>の？- What is friend doing?
<br />（２）　<span title="ひるごはん - lunch" class="popup">昼ご飯</span>を<span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べ<em>てる</em></span>。- (Friend) is eating lunch.
</p>

<p>（１）　<span title="なに - what" class="popup">何</span>を<span title="よむ - to read" class="popup">読ん<em>でる</em>？</span>- What are you reading?
<br />（２）　<span title="きょうかしょ - textbook" class="popup">教科書</span>を<span title="よむ - to read" class="popup">読ん<em>でいます</em></span>。- I am reading textbook.
</p>

<p>（１）　<span title="はなし - story" class="popup">話</span>を<span title="きく - to listen, to ask" class="popup">聞い<em>ていますか</em></span>。- Are you listening to me? (lit: Are you listening to story?)
<br />（２）　<span title="ううん - no" class="popup">ううん</span>、<span title="きく - to listen, to ask" class="popup">聞い<em>てない</em></span>。- No, I'm not listening.
</p>

<p>Notice how I left the 「い」 alone for the polite forms.  Though people certainly omit the 「い」 even in polite form, you might want to get used to
the proper way of saying things first before getting carried away with casual abbreviations.
You will be amazed at the extensive types of abbreviations that exist in casual speech.  (You may also be amazed at
how long everything gets in super polite speech.)  Basically, you will get the abbreviations if you just act lazy and slur everything together.
Particles also get punted off left and right.
</p>

<p>For example:
<br />（１）　<span title="なに - what" class="popup">何</span>を<span title="する - to do" class="popup">している</span>の？(Those particles are such a pain to say all the time...)
<br />（２）　<span title="なに - what" class="popup">何</span><span title="する - to do" class="popup">している</span>の？ (Ugh, I hate having to spell out all the vowels.)
<br />（３）　<span title="なに - what" class="popup">何</span><span title="する - to do" class="popup">してん</span>の？ (Ah, perfect.)
</p>

<h2 id="part3.enduring.html">Enduring state of being rather than enduring state of action</h2>
There are certain cases where an enduring state doesn't translate into the gerund form.
In fact, there is a ambiguity in whether one is in a state of <i>doing</i> an action versus
being in a state that <i>resulted</i> from some action. This is usually decided by context and common practices. For example, although
「<span title="けっこん - marriage" class="popup">結婚</span><span title="する - to do" class="popup">している</span>」 can technically mean
someone is in a chapel currently getting married, it is usually used to refer to someone who is already married and is currently in that married state. We'll now
discuss some common verbs that often cause this type of confusion for learners of Japanese.

<p><b>「<span title="しる - to know" class="popup">知る</span>」</b>
<br />「<span title="しる - to know" class="popup">知る</span>」 means "to know".  English is weird in that "know" is supposed to be a verb but is actually describing a state of having knowledge.
Japanese is more consistent and 「<span title="しる - to know" class="popup">知る</span>」 is just a regular action verb.  In other words, I "knowed" (action) something and so now I know it (state).
That's why the English word "to know" is really a continuing state in Japanese, namely: 「<span title="しる - to know" class="popup">知っている</span>」.
</p>

<p><b>「<span title="しる - to know" class="popup">知る</span>」 vs 「<span title="わかる - to understand" class="popup">分かる</span>」</b>
<br />「<span title="わかる - to understand" class="popup">分かる</span>」 meaning "to understand" may seem similar to 「<span title="しる - to know" class="popup">知る</span>」 in some cases.  However, there is a difference between "knowing" and "understanding".
Try not to confuse 「<span title="しる - to know" class="popup">知っている</span>」 with
「<span title="わかる - to understand" class="popup">分かっている</span>」.  「<span title="わかる - to understand" class="popup">分かっている</span>」 means that you are already in a state of understanding, in other words, you already get it.  If you misuse this, you
may sound pompous. ("Yeah, yeah, I got it already.")  On the other hand, 「<span title="しる - to know" class="popup">知っている</span>」 simply means you know something.
</p>

<h3>Examples</h3>

<p>（１）　<span title="きょう - today" class="popup">今日</span><em>、<span title="しる - to know" class="popup">知りました</span></em>。- I found out about it today. (I did the action of knowing today.)
<br />（２）　<span title="この - this" class="popup">この</span><span title="うた - song" class="popup">歌</span>を<em><span title="しる - to know" class="popup">知っています</span></em>か？- Do (you) know this song?
<br />（３）　<span title="みち - road" class="popup">道</span>は<em><span title="わかる - to understand" class="popup">分かります</span></em>か。－Do you know the way? (lit: Do (you) understand the road?)
<br />（４）　<span title="はい - yes" class="popup">はい</span>、<span title="はい - yes" class="popup">はい</span>、<em><span title="わかる - to understand" class="popup">分かった</span></em>、<em><span title="わかる - to understand" class="popup">分かった</span></em>。 - Yes, yes, I got it, I got it.
</p>


<p><b>Motion Verbs (<span title="行く - to go" class="popup">行く</span>、<span title="くる - to come" class="popup">来る</span>、etc.)</b>
<br />It is reasonable to assume the actions 「<span title="行く - to go" class="popup">行っている</span>」 and 「<span title="くる - to come" class="popup">来ている</span>」 would mean, "going" and "coming" respectively.  But unfortunately, this is
not the case.  The 「～ている」 form of motion verbs is more like a sequence of actions we saw in the last section.  You completed the motion, and now
you exist in that state.  (Remember, 「<span title="いる - to exist (animate)" class="popup">いる</span>」 is the verb of existence of animate objects.)  It might help to think of it as two separate and successive actions: 「<span title="行く - to go" class="popup">行って</span>」、and then 「<span title="いる - to exist (animate)" class="popup">いる</span>」.
</p>

<h3>Examples</h3>

<p>（１）　<span title="すずき - Suzuki" class="popup">鈴木</span>さんは<span title="どこ - where" class="popup">どこ</span>ですか。－Where is Suzuki-san?
<br />（２）　<span title="もう - already" class="popup">もう</span>、<span title="いえ - house" class="popup">家</span>に<em><span title="かえる - to go home" class="popup">帰っている</span></em>。- He is already at home (went home and is there now).
<br />
<br />（３）　<span title="さき - before" class="popup">先</span>に<em><span title="行く - to go" class="popup">行っている</span></em>よ。- I'll go on ahead. (I'll go and be there before you.)
<br />（４）　<span title="みえ - Mie" class="popup">美恵</span>ちゃんは、<span title="もう - already" class="popup">もう</span><em><span title="くる - to come" class="popup">来ている</span></em>よ。- Mie-chan is already here, you know. (She came and is here.)
</p>

<h2 id="part4.enduring.html">Using 「～てある」 for resultant states</h2>
Appropriately enough, just like there is an 「<span title="ある - to exist (inanimate)" class="popup">ある</span>」 to go with 「<span title="いる - to exist (animate)" class="popup">いる</span>」, there is a 「～てある」 form that also has a special meaning.  By replacing 「<span title="いる - to exist (animate)" class="popup">いる</span>」 with
「<span title="ある - to exist (inanimate)" class="popup">ある</span>」, instead of a continuing action, it becomes a resultant state after the action has already taken place.  Usually, this expression is used to
explain that something is in a state of completion.  The completed action also carries a nuance of being completed in preparation for something else.

<h3>Examples</h3>

<p>Since this grammar describes the state of a completed action, it is common to see the 「は」 and 「も」 particles instead of the 「を」 particle.</p>

<p>（１）　<span title="じゅんび - preparations" class="popup">準備</span>は<span title="どう - how" class="popup">どう</span>ですか。- How are the preparations?
<br />（２）　<span title="じゅんび - preparations" class="popup">準備</span>は、<span title="もう - already" class="popup">もう</span><em><span title="する - to do" class="popup">してある</span>よ</em>。 - The preparations are already done.
</p>

<p>（１）　<span title="りょこう - travel" class="popup">旅行</span>の<span title="けいかく - plans" class="popup">計画</span>は<span title="おわる - to end" class="popup">終った</span>？- Are the plans for the trip complete?
<br />（２）　<span title="うん - yeah, uh huh" class="popup">うん</span>、<span title="きっぷ - ticket" class="popup">切符</span>を<span title="かう - to buy" class="popup">買った</span>し、<span title="ホテル - hotel" class="popup">ホテル</span>の<span title="よやく - reservation" class="popup">予約</span>も<em><span title="する - to do" class="popup">してある</span></em>。-
Uh huh, not only did I buy the ticket, I also took care of the hotel reservations.
</p>

<h2 id="part5.enduring.html">Using the 「～ておく」 form as preparation for the future</h2>
While 「～てある」 carries a nuance of a completed action in preparation for something else, 「～ておく」 explicitly states that the action is
done (or will be done) with the future in mind.  Imagine this: you have made a delicious pie and you're going to <i>place</i> it on the window sill for it to cool so that you
can eat it later.  This image might help explain why the verb 「<span title="おく - to place" class="popup">おく</span>」 （<span title="おく - to place" class="popup">置く</span>）, meaning "to place",  can be used to describe a preparation for the future.  (It's just
too bad that pies on window sills always seem to go through some kind of mishap especially in cartoons.)
While 「<span title="おく - to place" class="popup">置く</span>」 by itself is written in kanji, it is customary to use hiragana when it comes attached to a conjugated verb (such as the te-form).

<h3>Examples</h3>

<p>（１）　<span title="ばんごはん - dinner" class="popup">晩ご飯</span>を<em><span title="つくる - to make" class="popup">作っておく</span></em>。- Make dinner (in advance for the future).
<br />（２）　<span title="でんち - battery" class="popup">電池</span>を<em><span title="かう - to buy" class="popup">買っておきます</span></em>。- I'll buy batteries (in advance for the future).
</p>

<p>「ておく」 is also sometimes abbreviated to 「～とく」 for convenience.
<br />（１）　<span title="ばんごはん - dinner" class="popup">晩ご飯</span>を<span title="つくる - to make" class="popup">作っ<em>とく</em></span>。- Make dinner (in advance for the future).
<br />（２）　<span title="でんち - battery" class="popup">電池</span>を<span title="かう - to buy" class="popup">買っ<em>ときます</em></span>。- I'll buy batteries (in advance for the future).
</p>

<h2 id="part6.enduring.html">Using motion verbs （<span title="行く - to go" class="popup">行く</span>、<span title="くる - to come" class="popup">来る</span>） with the te-form</h2>
You can also use the motion verb "to go" （<span title="行く - to go" class="popup">行く</span>）and "to come" with the te-form, to show that an action is oriented toward or from someplace. The most common
and useful example of this the verb 「<span title="もつ - to hold" class="popup">持つ</span>」 (to hold).  While 「<span title="もつ - to hold" class="popup">持っている</span>」 means you are in a state of holding something (in possession of), when the 「<span title="いる - to exist (animate)" class="popup">いる</span>」 is
replaced with 「<span title="いく - to go" class="popup">いく</span>」 or 「<span title="くる - to come" class="popup">くる</span>」, it means you are taking or bringing something. Of course, the conjugation is the same as the regular 「<span title="行く - to go" class="popup">行く</span>」 and 「<span title="くる - to come" class="popup">来る</span>」.

<h3>Examples</h3>

<p>（１）　<span title="えんぴつ - pencil" class="popup">鉛筆</span>を<span title="もつ - to hold" class="popup">持って<em>いる</em></span>？- Do (you) have a pencil?
<br />（２）　<span title="えんぴつ - pencil" class="popup">鉛筆</span>を<span title="がっこう - school" class="popup">学校</span>へ<span title="もつ - to hold" class="popup">持って<em>いく</em></span>？- Are (you) taking pencil to school?
<br />（３）　<span title="えんぴつ - pencil" class="popup">鉛筆</span>を<span title="いえ - house" class="popup">家</span>に<span title="もつ - to hold" class="popup">持って<em>くる</em></span>？- Are (you) bringing pencil to home?
</p>

<p>For these examples, it may make more sense to think of them as a sequence of actions: hold and go, or hold and come.  Here are a couple more
examples.
</p>
<p>（１）　<span title="おとうさん - father" class="popup">お父さん</span>は、<span title="はやい - fase, early" class="popup">早く</span><span title="かえる - to go home" class="popup">帰って<em>きました</em></span>。- Father came back home early.
<br />（２）　<span title="えき - station" class="popup">駅</span>の<span title="ほう - direction, way" class="popup">方</span>へ<span title="はしる - to run" class="popup">走って<em>いった</em></span>。- Ran toward the direction of station.
</p>

<p>
The motion verbs can also be used in time expressions to move forward or come up to the present.
</p>

<p>（１）　<span title="ふゆ - winter" class="popup">冬</span>に<span title="はいる - to enter" class="popup">入って</span>、<span title="コート - coat" class="popup">コート</span>を<span title="きる - to wear" class="popup">着ている</span><span title="ひと - person" class="popup">人</span>が<span title="ふえる - to increase" class="popup">増えて<em>いきます</em></span>。
<br />- Entering winter, people wearing coat will increase (toward the future).
</p>

<p>
（２）　<span title="いっしょうけんめい - with all one's might" class="popup">一生懸命</span>、<span title="がんばる - to try one's best" class="popup">頑張って<em>いく</em></span>！
<br />- Will try my hardest (toward the future) with all my might!
</p>

<p>
（３）　<span title="いろいろ - various" class="popup">色々</span>な<span title="ひと - person" class="popup">人</span>と<span title="つきあう - to go out with, to keep in company with" class="popup">付き合って<em>きた</em></span>けど、<span title="いい - good" class="popup">いい</span><span title="ひと - person" class="popup">人</span>は<span title="まだ - yet" class="popup">まだ</span><span title="みつかる - to be found" class="popup">見つからない</span>。
<br />- Went out (up to the present) with various types of people but have yet to find a good person.
</p>

<p>
（４）　<span title="にほんご - Japanese language" class="popup">日本語</span>を<span title="ずっと - long, far" class="popup">ずっと</span><span title="まえ - front, before" class="popup">前</span>から<span title="べんきょう - study" class="popup">勉強</span><span title="する - to do" class="popup">して<em>きて</em></span>、<span title="けっきょく - eventually" class="popup">結局</span>は<span title="やめる - to stop" class="popup">やめた</span>。
<br />- Studied Japanese from way back before and eventually quit.
</p>

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<p class="copyright">Copyright &copy; 2003-2007 Tae Kim (taekim.japanese AT gmail.com)</p>
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<a href="http://www.guidetojapanese.org/forum/viewforum.php?id=18">Report a correction or suggestion for this page</a>
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<div class="small" style="text-align:right;"><pre>This page has last been revised on 2006/1/4</pre></div>

<br class="break"/>
<h1>Now you can say you can.</h1>

<br /><br /><br />

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
<tr><td>
<div class="outline">
<!-- outline menu -->
<center><span class="summary">Outline</span></center>
<ol>
<li><a href="#part1.potential.html">Expressing the ability to do something</a></li>
<li><a href="#part2.potential.html">The Potential Form</a></li>
<li><a href="#part3.potential.html">Potential forms do not have direct objects</a></li>
<li><a href="#part4.potential.html">Are 「<span title="みえる - to be visible" class="popup">見える</span>」 and 「<span title="きこえる - to be audible" class="popup">聞こえる</span>」 exceptions?</a></li>
<li><a href="#part5.potential.html">「<span title="ある - to exist (inanimate)" class="popup">ある</span>」, yet another exception</a></li>
</ol>
</div>
</td></tr>
</table>

<h2 id="part1.potential.html">Expressing the ability to do something</h2>
In Japanese, the ability to do a certain action is expressed by conjugating the verb rather than adding a word such as the words "can" or "able to" in the case of English. All verbs conjugated into the potential form become a ru-verb.

<h2 id="part2.potential.html">The Potential Form</h2>
Once again, the conjugation rules can be split into three major groups: ru-verbs, u-verbs, and exception verbs. However, the potential form of the verb 「<span title="する - to do" class="popup">する</span>」 (meaning "to do") is a special  exception because it becomes a completely different verb: 「<span title="できる - to be able to do" class="popup">できる</span>」 （<span title="できる - to be able to do" class="popup">出来る</span>）

<div class="sumbox">
<span class="summary">Rules for creating potential form</span>
<ol>
<li>ru-verbs - Replace the 「る」with 「られる」.
<br />（例）　<span title="みる - to see" class="popup">見<em><strike>る</strike></em></span> → <span title="みる - to see" class="popup">見<em>られる</em></span></li>
<li>u-verbs - Change the last character from a / u / vowel sound to the equivalent / e / vowel sound and add 「る」.
<br /> （例）　<span title="あそぶ - to play" class="popup">遊<em><strike>ぶ</strike></em></span> → <span title="あそぶ - to play" class="popup">遊<em>べ</em></span> → <span title="あそぶ - to play" class="popup">遊べ<em>る</em></span></li>
<li>Exceptions - 「<span title="する - to do" class="popup">する</span>」 becomes 「<span title="できる - to be able to do" class="popup">できる</span>」 and 「<span title="くる - to come" class="popup">くる</span>」 becomes 「<span title="くる - to come" class="popup">こられる</span>」.</li>
</ol>
※Remember that all potential verbs become ru-verbs.
</div>


<p />
<table align="center" border="0">
<tr>
<td>
<table border="1" cellpadding="5">
<caption>Sample ru-verbs</caption>
<tr align="center"><th>Plain</th><th>Potential</th></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べ<em>る</em></span></td><td><span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べ<em>られる</em></span></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="きる - to wear" class="popup">着<em>る</em></span></td><td><span title="きる - to wear" class="popup">着<em>られる</em></span></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="しんじる - to believe" class="popup">信じ<em>る</em></span></td><td><span title="しんじる - to believe" class="popup">信じ<em>られる</em></span></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="ねる - to sleep" class="popup">寝<em>る</em></span></td><td><span title="ねる - to sleep" class="popup">寝<em>られる</em></span></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="おきる - to get up" class="popup">起き<em>る</em></span></td><td><span title="おきる - to get up" class="popup">起き<em>られる</em></span></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="でる - to come out" class="popup">出<em>る</em></span></td><td><span title="でる - to come out" class="popup">出<em>られる</em></span></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="かける - to hang" class="popup">掛け<em>る</em></span></td><td><span title="かける - to hang" class="popup">掛け<em>られる</em></span></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="しらべる - to investigate" class="popup">調べ<em>る</em></span></td><td><span title="しらべる - to investigate" class="popup">調べ<em>られる</em></span></td></tr>

</table>
</td>


<td rowspan="2">
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
</td>

<td>
<table border="1" cellpadding="5">
<caption>Sample u-verbs</caption>
<tr align="center"><th>Plain</th><th>Potential</th>
<th><span title="ろーまじ - roman characters" class="popup">ローマ字</span></th><th><span title="ろーまじ - roman characters" class="popup">ローマ字</span> (Pot.)</th></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="はなす - to speak" class="popup">話<em>す</em></span></td><td><span title="はなす - to speak" class="popup">話<em>せる</em></span></td>
<td>hanas<em>u</em></td><td>hanas<em>eru</em></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="かく - to write" class="popup">書<em>く</em></span></td><td><span title="かく - to write" class="popup">書<em>ける</em></span></td>
<td>kak<em>u</em></td><td>kak<em>eru</em></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="あそぶ - to play" class="popup">遊<em>ぶ</em></span></td><td><span title="あそぶ - to play" class="popup">遊<em>べる</em></span></td>
<td>asob<em>u</em></td><td>asob<em>eru</em></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="まつ - to wait" class="popup">待<em>つ</em></span></td><td><span title="まつ - to wait" class="popup">待<em>てる</em></span></td>
<td>mat<em>u</em></td><td>mat<em>eru</em></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="のむ - to drink" class="popup">飲<em>む</em></span></td><td><span title="のむ - to drink" class="popup">飲<em>める</em></span></td>
<td>nom<em>u</em></td><td>nom<em>eru</em></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="とる - to take" class="popup">取<em>る</em></span></td><td><span title="とる - to take" class="popup">取<em>れる</em></span></td>
<td>tor<em>u</em></td><td>tor<em>eru</em></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="しぬ - to die" class="popup">死<em>ぬ</em></span></td><td><span title="しぬ - to die" class="popup">死<em>ねる</em></span></td>
<td>shin<em>u</em></td><td>shin<em>eru</em></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="かう - to buy" class="popup">買<em>う</em></span></td><td><span title="かう - to buy" class="popup">買<em>える</em></span></td><td>ka<em>u</em></td>
<td>ka<em>eru</em></td></tr>

</table>
</td>

<td rowspan="2">
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
</td>


<td valign="top">
<table border="1" cellpadding="5">
<caption>Exception Verbs</caption>
<tr align="center"><th>Plain</th><th>Potential</th></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="する - to do" class="popup">する</span></td><td><span title="できる - to be able to do" class="popup">できる</span></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="くる - to come" class="popup">くる</span></td><td><span title="くる - to come" class="popup">こられる</span></td></tr>

</table>
</td>
</tr>
</table>

<p>
It is also possible to just add 「れる」 instead of the full 「られる」 for ru-verbs.  For example, 「<span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べる</span>」 becomes 「<span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べれる</span>」 instead of
「<span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べられる</span>」.  I suggest
learning the official 「られる」 conjugation first because laziness can be a hard habit to break and the shorter version, though common, is considered to be slang.
</p>

<h3>Examples</h3>
<p>（１）　<span title="かんじ - kanji" class="popup">漢字</span>は<em><span title="かく - to write" class="popup">書けます</span>か</em>？
<br />- Can you write kanji?
</p>
<p>（２）　<span title="ざんねん - unfortunate" class="popup">残念</span>だが、<span title="こんしゅうまつ - this weekend" class="popup">今週末</span>は<em><span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行けない</span></em>。
<br />- It's unfortunate, but can't go this weekend.
</p>
<p>
（３）　<span title="もう - already" class="popup">もう</span><em><span title="しんじる - to believe" class="popup">信じられない</span></em>。
<br />- I can't believe it already.
</p>

<h2 id="part3.potential.html">Potential forms do not have direct objects</h2>
The potential form indicates that something is possible but no actual action is actually taken.  While the potential form remains a verb, since it is
describing the state of something you must not use the direct object 「を」 as you have done with regular verbs.
For example the following sentences are incorrect.

<p>（誤）　<span title="ふじさん - Mt. Fuji" class="popup">富士山</span><em><strike>を</strike></em><span title="のぼる - to climb" class="popup">登れた</span>。
<br />（誤）　<span title="おもい - heavy" class="popup">重い</span><span title="にもつ - baggage" class="popup">荷物</span><em><strike>を</strike></em><span title="もつ - to hold" class="popup">持てます</span>。
</p>
<p>Here are the corrected versions:
<br />（正）　<span title="ふじさん - Mt. Fuji" class="popup">富士山</span><em>が</em><span title="のぼる - to climb" class="popup">登れた</span>。- Was able to climb Fuji-san.
<br />（正）　<span title="おもい - heavy" class="popup">重い</span><span title="にもつ - baggage" class="popup">荷物</span><em>が</em><span title="もつ - to hold" class="popup">持てます</span>。- Am able to hold heavy baggage.
<br />Of course, the 「は」 or 「も」 particle is also possible depending on what you want to say.
</p>

<h2 id="part4.potential.html">Are 「<span title="みえる - to be visible" class="popup">見える</span>」 and 「<span title="きこえる - to be audible" class="popup">聞こえる</span>」 exceptions?</h2>
There are two verbs 「<span title="みえる - to be visible" class="popup">見える</span>」 and 「<span title="きこえる - to be audible" class="popup">聞こえる</span>」 that mean that something is visible and audible, respectively.  When you want to say that you can
see or hear something, you'll want to use these verbs.  If however, you wanted to say that you were given the opportunity to see or hear something,
you would use the regular potential form. However, in this case, it is more common to use the type of expression as seen in example （３）.

<h3>Examples</h3>
<p>（１）　<span title="きょう - today" class="popup">今日</span>は<span title="はれる - to be sunny" class="popup">晴れて</span>、<span title="ふじさん - Mt. Fuji" class="popup">富士山</span>が<span title="みえる - to be visible" class="popup">見える</span>。
<br />- It cleared up today and Fuji-san is visible.
</p>
<p>
（２）　<span title="ともだち - friend" class="popup">友達</span>の<span title="おかげ - thanks to" class="popup">おかげ</span>で、<span title="えいが - movie" class="popup">映画</span>は<span title="ただ - free of charge, only" class="popup">ただ</span>で<span title="みる - to see" class="popup">見られた</span>。
<br />- Thanks to [my] friend, [I] was able to watch the movie for free.
</p>
<p>
（３）　<span title="ともだち - friend" class="popup">友達</span>の<span title="おかげ - thanks to" class="popup">おかげ</span>で、<span title="えいが - movie" class="popup">映画</span>を<span title="ただ - free of charge, only" class="popup">ただ</span>で<span title="みる - to see" class="popup">見る</span><span title="こと - event, matter" class="popup">こと</span>が<span title="できる - to be able to do" class="popup">できた</span>。
<br />- Thanks to [my] friend, [I] was able to watch the movie for free.
</p>

<p>
You can see that （３） uses the generic noun for an event to say literally, "The event of seeing movie was able to be done." which essentially
means the same thing as 「<span title="みる - to see" class="popup">見られる</span>」.  As already explained in <a href="particles3.html#part4.potential.html">Particles 3</a>,
you can also just use generic noun substitution to substitute for 「<span title="こと - event, matter" class="popup">こと</span>」.
</p>
<p>
（１）　<span title="ともだち - friend" class="popup">友達</span>の<span title="おかげ - thanks to" class="popup">おかげ</span>で、<span title="えいが - movie" class="popup">映画</span>を<span title="みる - to see" class="popup">見る</span><em>の</em>が<span title="できる - to be able to do" class="popup">できた</span>。
</p>

<p>
Here's some more examples using 「<span title="きく - to hear, to ask" class="popup">聞く</span>」, can you tell the difference? Notice that 「<span title="きこえる - to be audible" class="popup">聞こえる</span>」 always means "audible" and never "able to ask".
</p>

<p>
（１）　<span title="ひさしぶり - after a long time" class="popup">久しぶり</span>に<span title="かれ - he" class="popup">彼</span>の<span title="こえ - voice" class="popup">声</span>が<em><span title="きく - to hear, ask" class="popup">聞けた</span></em>。
<br />- I was able to hear his voice for the first time in a long time.
</p>
<p>
（２）　<span title="まわり - surroundings" class="popup">周り</span>が<span title="うるさい - noisy" class="popup">うるさくて</span>、<span title="かれ - he" class="popup">彼</span>が<span title="いう - to say" class="popup">言っている</span><span title="こと - event, matter" class="popup">こと</span>が<span title="あんまり - not very" class="popup">あんまり</span><em><span title="きこえる - to be audible" class="popup">聞こえなかった</span></em>
<br />- The surroundings were noisy and I couldn't hear what he was saying very well。
</p>

<h2 id="part5.potential.html">「<span title="ある - to exist (inanimate)" class="popup">ある</span>」, yet another exception</h2>
You can say that something has a possibility of existing by combining 「<span title="ある - to exist (inanimate)" class="popup">ある</span>」 and the verb 「<span title="える - to obtain" class="popup">得る</span>」 to produce 「<span title="ありうる／ありえる - to be possible" class="popup">あり得る</span>」.
This essentially means 「<span title="ある - to exist (inanimate)" class="popup">ある</span><span title="こと - event, matter" class="popup">こと</span>が<span title="できる - to be able to do" class="popup">できる</span>」
except that nobody actually says that, they just use 「<span title="ありうる／ありえる - to be possible" class="popup">あり得る</span>」.  This verb is very curious in that it can be read as either
「<span title="ありうる - to be possible" class="popup">ありうる</span>」 or 「<span title="ありえる - to be possible" class="popup">ありえる</span>」, <i>however</i>; all the other conjugations such as 「<span title="ありえる - to be possible" class="popup">ありえない</span>」、「<span title="ありえる - to be possible" class="popup">ありえた</span>」、and 「<span title="ありえる - to be possible" class="popup">ありえなかった</span>」
only have one possible reading using 「え」.

<h3>Examples</h3>
<p>
（１）　<span title="そんな - that sort of" class="popup">そんな</span><span title="こと - event, matter" class="popup">こと</span>は<em><span title="ありうる - to be possible" class="popup">ありうる</span></em>。
<br />- That kind of situation/event is possible (lit: can exist).
</p>
<p>
（２）　<span title="そんな - that sort of" class="popup">そんな</span><span title="こと - event, matter" class="popup">こと</span>は<em><span title="ありえる - to be possible" class="popup">ありえる</span></em>。
<br />- That kind of situation/event is possible (lit: can exist).
</p>
<p>
（３）　<span title="そんな - that sort of" class="popup">そんな</span><span title="こと - event, matter" class="popup">こと</span>は<em><span title="ありえる - to be possible" class="popup">ありえない</span></em>。
<br />- That kind of situation/event is not possible (lit: cannot exist).
</p>
<p>
（４）　<span title="かれ - he; boyfriend" class="popup">彼</span>が<span title="ねぼう - oversleep" class="popup">寝坊</span><span title="する - to do" class="popup">した</span><span title="こと - event, matter" class="popup">こと</span>も<em><span title="ありうる - to be possible" class="popup">ありうる</span></em>ね。
<br />- It's also possible that he overslept. (lit: The event that he overslept also possibly exists.)
</p>
<p>
（５）　<span title="それ - that" class="popup">それ</span>は、<em><span title="ありえる - to be possible" class="popup">ありえない</span></em><span title="はなし - story" class="popup">話</span>だよ。
<br />- That's an impossible story/scenario. (lit: That story/scenario cannot exist.)
</p>

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<div class="small" style="text-align:right;"><pre>This page has last been revised on 2006/9/6
Revised examples and translations (2006/9/6)</pre></div>

<br class="break"/>
<h1>This lesson is very becoming for doing</h1>

<br /><br /><br />

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
<tr><td>
<div class="outline">
<!-- outline menu -->
<center><span class="summary">Outline</span></center>
<ol>
<li><a href="#part1.surunaru.html">Using 「<span title="する - to do" class="popup">する</span>」 and 「<span title="なる - to become" class="popup">なる</span>」 with the 「に」 particle</a></li>
<li><a href="#part2.surunaru.html">Using 「<span title="なる - to become" class="popup">なる</span>」 and 「<span title="する - to do" class="popup">する</span>」 for nouns and na-adjectives</a></li>
<li><a href="#part3.surunaru.html">Using 「<span title="なる - to become" class="popup">なる</span>」 with i-adjectives</a></li>
<li><a href="#part4.surunaru.html">Using 「<span title="なる - to become" class="popup">なる</span>」 and 「<span title="する - to do" class="popup">する</span>」 with verbs</a></li>
</ol>
</div>
</td></tr>
</table>

<h2 id="part1.surunaru.html">Using 「<span title="する - to do" class="popup">する</span>」 and 「<span title="なる - to become" class="popup">なる</span>」 with the 「に」 particle</h2>
We can use the verbs 「<span title="する - to do" class="popup">する</span>」 and 「<span title="なる - to become" class="popup">なる</span>」 in conjunction with the 「に」 particle to make various useful expressions.
We are used to using the object particle with 「<span title="する - to do" class="popup">する</span>」 because something is usually done <u>to</u> something else.  We will see how the meaning changes when we change the particle to
「に」.  As for 「<span title="なる - to become" class="popup">なる</span>」, it is always used with the 「に」 particle because "becoming" is not an action done to something else but rather a target of change.
The only grammatical point of interest here is using 「<span title="なる - to become" class="popup">なる</span>」 with i-adjectives and verbs.

<h2 id="part2.surunaru.html">Using 「<span title="なる - to become" class="popup">なる</span>」 and 「<span title="する - to do" class="popup">する</span>」 for nouns and na-adjectives</h2>
As already explained, using 「<span title="なる - to become" class="popup">なる</span>」 with nouns and na-adjectives presents nothing new and acts pretty much the way you'd expect.

<p>
（１）　<span title="かれ - he" class="popup">彼</span>の<span title="にほんご - Japanese language" class="popup">日本語</span>が<span title="じょうず - skillful" class="popup">上手</span><em>に<span title="なる - to become" class="popup">なった</span></em>。
<br />- His Japanese has become skillful.
</p>
<p>
（２）　<span title="わたし - me, myself, I" class="popup">私</span>は<span title="いしゃ - doctor" class="popup">医者</span><em>に<span title="なる - to become" class="popup">なった</span></em>。
<br />- I became a doctor.
</p>
<p>
（３）　<span title="わたし - me, myself, I" class="popup">私</span>は<span title="ゆうめい - famous" class="popup">有名</span>な<span title="ひと - person" class="popup">人</span><em>に<span title="なる - to become" class="popup">なる</span></em>。
<br />- I will become a famous person.
</p>

<p>For adjectives, using the verb 「<span title="する - to do" class="popup">する</span>」 with the 「に」 particle is just a review back to the lesson on <a href="adgobi.html">adverbs</a>.
However, for nouns, when you use the verb 「<span title="する - to do" class="popup">する</span>」 with the 「に」 particle, it means that you are going to do things toward something.
This changes the meaning of 「<span title="する - to do" class="popup">する</span>」 to mean, "to decide on [X]".
This is a common expression to use, for instance, when you are ordering items on a menu.
</p>

<p>
（１）　<span title="わたし - me, myself, I" class="popup">私</span>は、<span title="ハンバーガー - hamburger" class="popup">ハンバーガー</span>と<span title="サラダ - salad" class="popup">サラダ</span><em>に<span title="する - to do" class="popup">します</span></em>。
<br />- I'll have the hamburger and salad. (lit: I'll do toward hamburger and salad.)
</p>

<p>
（２）　<span title="ほか - other" class="popup">他</span>に<span title="いい - good" class="popup">いい</span><span title="もの - object" class="popup">もの</span>が<span title="たくさん - a lot" class="popup">たくさん</span><span title="ある - to exist (inanimate)" class="popup">ある</span>けど、<span title="やっぱり - as I thought" class="popup">やっぱり</span><em><span title="これ - this" class="popup">これ</span>に</em><span title="する - to do" class="popup">する</span>。
<br />- There are a lot of other good things, but as I thought, I'll go with this one.
</p>

<p>If you think this expression is strange, think about the English expression, "I'll go with the hamburger."  Exactly where are you going with the
hamburger?</p>

<h2 id="part3.surunaru.html">Using 「<span title="なる - to become" class="popup">なる</span>」 with i-adjectives</h2>
Because the 「に」 particle is a target particle that is used for nouns and by extension na-adjectives, we need to use something else
to show that something is becoming an i-adjective.  Since "becoming" expresses a change in state, it makes sense to describe this process using
an adverb.  In fact, you'll notice that we were already using adverbs (of a sort) in the previous section by using 「に」 with na-adjectives.

<p>（１）　<span title="きょねん - last year" class="popup">去年</span>から<span title="せ - height" class="popup">背</span>が<em><span title="たかい - tall, high" class="popup">高く</span><span title="なる - to become" class="popup">なった</span>ね</em>。
<br />- Your height has gotten taller from last year, huh?
</p>

<p>
（２）　<span title="うんどう - exercise" class="popup">運動</span><span title="する - to do" class="popup">している</span>から、<em><span title="つよい - strong" class="popup">強く</span><span title="なる - to become" class="popup">なる</span></em>。
<br />- I will become stronger because I am exercising.
</p>

<p>
（３）　<span title="べんきょう - study" class="popup">勉強</span>を<span title="たくさん - a lot" class="popup">たくさん</span><span title="する - to do" class="popup">した</span>から、<span title="あたま - head" class="popup">頭</span>が<em><span title="いい - good" class="popup">よく</span><span title="なる - to become" class="popup">なった</span></em>。
<br />- Since I studied a lot, I became smarter. (lit: head became better)
</p>

<h2 id="part4.surunaru.html">Using 「<span title="なる - to become" class="popup">なる</span>」 and 「<span title="する - to do" class="popup">する</span>」 with verbs</h2>
You may be wondering how to use  「<span title="なる - to become" class="popup">なる</span>」 and 「<span title="する - to do" class="popup">する</span>」  with verbs since there's no way to directly modify a verb with another verb.  The simple solution is to add a generic noun such as a generic event: <span title="こと - event, matter" class="popup">こと</span> （<span title="こと - event, matter" class="popup">事</span>） or an appearance/manner: <span title="よう - appearance, manner" class="popup">よう</span> （<span title="よう - appearance, manner" class="popup">様</span>）.
These nouns don't refer to anything specific and are used to describe something else. In this case, they allow us to describe verbs in the same manner as nouns.
Here are some examples of how to use these generic nouns with 「<span title="する - to do" class="popup">する</span>」 and 「<span title="なる - to become" class="popup">なる</span>」.
<p>（１）　<span title="かいがい - overseas" class="popup">海外</span>に<span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行く</span><em><span title="こと - event, matter" class="popup">こと</span></em>に<span title="なる - to become" class="popup">なった</span>。
<br />- It's been decided that I will go abroad. (lit: It became the event of going abroad.)
</p>

<p>
（２）　<span title="まいにち - everyday" class="popup">毎日</span>、<span title="にく - meat" class="popup">肉</span>を<span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べる</span><em><span title="よう - appearance, manner" class="popup">よう</span></em>に<span title="なる - to become" class="popup">なった</span>。
<br />- It seems like I started eating meat everyday. (lit: It became the appearance of eating meat everyday.)
</p>

<p>
（３）　<span title="かいがい - overseas" class="popup">海外</span>に<span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行く</span><em><span title="こと - event, matter" class="popup">こと</span></em>に<span title="する - to do" class="popup">した</span>。
<br />- I decided I will go abroad. (lit: I did toward the event of going abroad.)
</p>

<p>
（４）　<span title="まいにち - everyday" class="popup">毎日</span>、<span title="にく - meat" class="popup">肉</span>を<span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べる</span><em><span title="よう - appearance, manner" class="popup">よう</span></em>に<span title="する - to do" class="popup">する</span>。
<br />- I will try to eat meat everyday. (lit: I will do toward the manner of eating meat everyday.)
</p>

<p>You can modify a verb with 「<span title="なる - to become" class="popup">なる</span>」 or 「<span title="する - to do" class="popup">する</span>」 by first making it into a noun clause and then treating it just like a regular noun.
Pretty clever, huh?  I hope the literal translations give you a sense of why the example sentences mean what they do.  For example, in
（４） 「～<span title="よう - appearance, manner" class="popup">よう</span>に<span title="する - to do" class="popup">する</span>」 translates into "to make an effort toward..." but in Japanese, it's really only a target towards acting in a certain manner.
</p>

<p>
Since potential verbs describe a state of feasibility rather than an action (remember, that's why the 「を」 particle couldn't be used), it is often used
in conjunction with 「～<span title="よう - appearance, manner" class="popup">よう</span>に<span title="なる - to become" class="popup">なる</span>」 to describe a change in manner to a state of feasibility.  Let's take this opportunity to get some potential
conjugation practice in.
</p>

<p>
（１）　<span title="にほん - Japan" class="popup">日本</span>に<span title="くる - to come" class="popup">来て</span>、<span title="すし - sushi" class="popup">寿司</span>が<em><span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べられる</span><span title="よう - appearance, manner" class="popup">よう</span>に<span title="なる - to become" class="popup">なった</span></em>。
<br />- After coming to Japan, I became able to eat sushi.
</p>
<p>
（２）　<span title="いちねんかん - span of 1 year" class="popup">一年間</span><span title="れんしゅう - practice" class="popup">練習</span><span title="する - to do" class="popup">した</span>から、<span title="ピアノ - piano" class="popup">ピアノ</span>が<em><span title="ひく - to play (piano, guitar)" class="popup">弾ける</span><span title="よう - appearance, manner" class="popup">よう</span>に<span title="なる - to become" class="popup">なった</span></em>。
<br />- Because I practiced for one year, I became able to play the piano.
</p>

<p>
（３）　<span title="ちか - underground" class="popup">地下</span>に<span title="はいる - to enter" class="popup">入って</span>、<em><span title="ふじさん - Mt. Fuji" class="popup">富士山</span>が<span title="みえる - to be visible" class="popup">見えなく</span><span title="なる - to become" class="popup">なった</span></em>。
<br />- After going underground, Fuji-san became not visible.
</p>

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<p class="copyright">Copyright &copy; 2003-2007 Tae Kim (taekim.japanese AT gmail.com)</p>
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<br class="break"/>
<h1>Conditionals</h1>

<br /><br /><br />

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
<tr><td>
<div class="outline">
<!-- outline menu -->
<center><span class="summary">Outline</span></center>
<ol>
<li><a href="#part1.conditional.html">How to say "if" in Japanese</a></li>
<li><a href="#part2.conditional.html">Expressing natural consequence using 「と」</a></li>
<li><a href="#part3.conditional.html">Contextual conditionals using 「なら（ば）」</a></li>
<li><a href="#part4.conditional.html">General conditionals using 「ば」</a></li>
<li><a href="#part5.conditional.html">Past conditional using 「たら（ば）」</a></li>
<li><a href="#part6.conditional.html">How does 「<span title="もし - if by any chance" class="popup">もし</span>」 fit into all of this?</a></li>
</ol>
</div>
</td></tr>
</table>


<h2 id="part1.conditional.html">How to say "if" in Japanese</h2>
This whole section is dedicated to learning how to say "if" in Japanese.  Oh, if only it was as simple as English.  In Japanese, there's four (count
them, four) ways to say "if"!  Thankfully, the conjugations are sparse and easy especially since you don't have to deal with tenses.

<h2 id="part2.conditional.html">Expressing natural consequence using 「と」</h2>
We'll first cover the simplest type of "if" which is the natural consequence conditional.  This means that if [X] happens, [Y] will
happen as a natural consequence.  No question about it.  If I drop a ball, it will fall to the ground.  If I turn off the lights at night, it will get dark.  We can express
this type of condition in the following format.

<div class="sumbox">
<span class="summary">Rules for using the conditional 「と」</span>
<ol>
<li>Attach 「と」 to the condition followed by the result that would occur should the condition be satisfied
<br /><b>= [Condition] + と + [Result]</b></li>
<li>State of being must be made explicit
<br /><b>= [State of Being] + <u>だ</u>と + [Result]</b></li>
</ol>
</div>

<h3>Examples</h3>
<p>
（１）　<span title="ボール - ball" class="popup">ボール</span>を<span title="おとす - to drop" class="popup">落す</span><em>と</em><span title="おちる - to fall" class="popup">落ちる</span>。
<br />- If you drop the ball, it will fall.
</p>

<p>
（２）　<span title="でんき - electricy, (electric) light" class="popup">電気</span>を<span title="けす - to erase" class="popup">消す</span><em>と</em><span title="くらい - dark" class="popup">暗く</span><span title="なる - to become" class="popup">なる</span>。
<br />- If you turn off the lights, it will get dark.
</p>

<p>These examples are designed to show how 「と」 is used to express natural consequence.  However, even if the statement isn't a natural
consequence in itself, the 「と」 will tell the audience that it is nevertheless expected to be a natural consequence.
</p>

<p>（１）　<span title="がっこう - school" class="popup">学校</span>に<span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行かない</span><em>と</em><span title="ともだち - friend" class="popup">友達</span>と<span title="あう - to meet" class="popup">会えない</span>よ。
<br />- If you don't go to school, you can't meet your friends.
</p>

<p>
（２）　<span title="たくさん - to lot" class="popup">たくさん</span><span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べる</span><em>と</em><span title="ふとる - to become fatter" class="popup">太る</span>よ。
<br />- If you eat a lot, you will get fat, for sure.
</p>

<p>
（３）　<span title="せんせい - teacher" class="popup">先生</span><em>だと</em>、<span title="きっと - for sure" class="popup">きっと</span><span title="としうえ - older" class="popup">年上</span>なんじゃないですか？
<br />- If he's a teacher, he must be older for sure, right?
</p>

<p>The "for sure" part is the implied meaning supplied by the 「と」.  The speaker is saying that the following condition will occur in that situation, no matter what. As you can see from the last example,  if the condition is a state-of-being, it must be expressed so explicitly using 「だ」.  This applies to all non-conjugated nouns and na-adjectives as I'm sure you're used to by now.  This will also help prevent confusion with other types of 「と」.
</p>


<h2 id="part3.conditional.html">Contextual conditionals using 「なら（ば）」</h2>
Another relatively easy to understand type of "if" is the contextual conditional.  You can use this particle to express what will happen given a certain context.
For example, if you wanted to say, "Well, if everybody's going, I'm going too" you would use the 「なら」 conditional because you are saying that you will go
in the context of everybody else going. The contextual conditional always requires a context in which the conditional occurs. For instance, you would use it
for saying things like, "If <i>that's</i> what you are talking about..." or "If <i>that's</i> the case, then..."

<p>
In a sense, you are explaining what would occur if you assume a certain condition is satisfied. In other words, you are saying "if given a certain context, here is
what will happen." You will see this reflected in the English translations as the phrase "if given" in the examples.
</p>

<p>The 「なら」 is attached to the context in which the conditional occurs. The format is the same as the 「と」 conditional, however, you <u>must not</u>
attach the declarative 「だ」.</p>

<div class="sumbox">
<span class="summary">Rules for using the contextual conditional 「なら」</span>
<ol>
<li>Attach 「なら」 to the context in which the conditional would occur
<br /><b>= [Assumed Context] + なら + [Result]</b></li>
<li>You <u>must not</u> attach the declarative 「だ」.</li>
</ol>
</div>

<h3>Examples</h3>
<p>
（１）　<span title="みんな - everybody" class="popup">みんな</span>が<span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行く</span><em>なら</em><span title="わたし - me, myself, I" class="popup">私</span>も<span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行く</span>。
<br />- If given that everybody is going, then I'll go too.
</p>

<p>
（２）　アリス<span title="さん - polite name suffix" class="popup">さん</span>が<span title="いう - to say" class="popup">言う</span><em>なら</em><span title="もんだい - problem" class="popup">問題</span><span title="ある - to exist (inanimate)" class="popup">ない</span>よ。
<br />- If given that Alice-san says so, there's no problem.
</p>

<h3>Example Dialogue</h3>
<p>
アリス）　<span title="としょかん - library" class="popup">図書館</span>は<span title="どこ - where" class="popup">どこ</span>ですか。
<br />- Where is the library?
</p>
<p>
ボブ）　<span title="としょかん - library" class="popup">図書館</span><em>なら</em>、<span title="あそこ - over there" class="popup">あそこ</span>です。<br />- If given that you're talking about the library, then it's over there.
</p>

<p>The following is incorrect.
<br />（誤）　<span title="としょかん - library" class="popup">図書館</span><em><strike>だ</strike></em>なら<span title="あそこ - over there" class="popup">あそこ</span>です。
</p>

<p>You can also decide to use 「なら<em>ば</em>」 instead of just 「なら」. This means exactly the same thing except that it has a more formal nuance.
</p>

<h2 id="part4.conditional.html">General conditionals using 「ば」</h2>
The next type of conditional just expresses a regular "if" condition without any assumptions or embedded meanings.  However, it cannot be used with
nouns and na-adjectives.  Conjugation-wise, the 「ば」 conditional is fairly easy.
For verbs, like the potential form, you change the last / u / vowel sound to an / e / vowel sound but instead of attaching 「る」, you attach 「ば」.  This rule
also applies to ru-verbs.  For i-adjectives and negatives ending in 「ない」, you take off the last 「い」 and add 「ければ」.

<div class="sumbox">
<span class="summary">Conjugation Rules for 「ば」</span>
<ol>
<li>For verbs, just like the <a href="potential.html#part2.conditional.html"><i>potential form</i></a>,
change the last / u / vowel sound to the equivalent / e / vowel sound and attach 「ば」
<br />（例） <span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べ<em>る</em></span>　→　<span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べ<em>れ</em></span> →  <span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べれ<em>ば</em></span>
<br />（例） <span title="まつ - to wait" class="popup">待<em>つ</em></span>　→　<span title="まつ - to wait" class="popup">待<em>て</em></span> →  <span title="まつ - to wait" class="popup">待て<em>ば</em></span></li>
<li>For i-adjectives or negatives ending in 「ない」, drop the last 「い」 and attach 「ければ」.
<br />（例） <span title="おかしい - funny" class="popup">おかし<em><strike>い</strike></em></span>　→　<span title="おかしい - funny" class="popup">おかし<em>ければ</em></span>
<br />（例） <span title="ある - to exist (inanimate)" class="popup">な<em><strike>い</strike></em></span>　→　<span title="ある - to exist (inanimate)" class="popup">な<em>ければ</em></span></li>
</ol>
</div>

<h3>Examples</h3>
<p>
（１）　<span title="ともだち - friend" class="popup">友達</span>に<span title="あう - to meet" class="popup">会えれ<em>ば</em></span>、<span title="かいもの - shopping" class="popup">買い物</span>に<span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行きます</span>。
<br />- If I can meet with my friend, we will go shopping.
</p>

<p>
（２）　<span title="おかね - money" class="popup">お金</span>が<span title="ある - to exist (inanimate)" class="popup">あれ<em>ば</em></span><span title="いい - good" class="popup">いい</span>ね。
<br />- If I had money, it would be good, huh?
</p>

<p>
（３）　<span title="たのしい - fun" class="popup">楽し<em>ければ</em></span>、<span title="わたし - me, myself, I" class="popup">私</span>も<span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行く</span>。
<br />- If it's fun, I'll go too.
</p>

<p>
（４）　<span title="たのしい - fun" class="popup">楽しくな<em>ければ</em></span>、<span title="わたし - me, myself, I" class="popup">私</span>も<span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行かない</span>。
<br />- If it's not fun, I'll also not go.
</p>

<p>
（５）　<span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べな<em>ければ</em></span><span title="びょうき - disease, sickness" class="popup">病気</span>に<span title="なる - to become" class="popup">なる</span>よ。
<br />- If you don't eat, you will become sick.
</p>

<h2 id="part5.conditional.html">Past conditional using 「たら（ば）」</h2>
I call this next conditional the past conditional because it is produced by taking the past tense and just adding 「ら」.  It is commonly called the
「たら」 conditional because all past-tense ends with 「た」 and so it always becomes 「たら」.  Like the 「ば」 conditional, it is also a general conditional except it can
also be used with nouns and na-adjectives.

<div class="sumbox">
<span class="summary">Conjugation Rule for 「たら（ば）」</span>
<ol>
<li>First change the noun, adjective, or verb to its past tense and attach 「ら」
<br />（例） <span title="じどう - automatic" class="popup">自動</span>　→　<span title="じどう - automatic" class="popup">自動</span><em>だった</em> →  <span title="じどう - automatic" class="popup">自動</span>だった<em>ら</em>
<br />（例） <span title="まつ - to wait" class="popup">待<em>つ</em></span>　→　<span title="まつ - to wait" class="popup">待<em>った</em></span> →  <span title="まつ - to wait" class="popup">待った<em>ら</em></span>
<br />（例） <span title="いそがしい - busy" class="popup">忙し<em>い</em></span>　→　<span title="いそがしい - busy" class="popup">忙し<em>かった</em></span> →  <span title="いそがしい - busy" class="popup">忙しかった<em>ら</em></span></li>
</ol>
</div>


<h3>Examples</h3>
<p>
（１）　<span title="ひま - free, leisure" class="popup">暇</span>だっ<em>たら</em>、<span title="あそぶ - to play" class="popup">遊び</span>に<span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行く</span>よ。
<br />- If I am free, I will go play.
</p>
<p>
（２）　<span title="がくせい - student" class="popup">学生</span>だっ<em>たら</em>、<span title="がくせい - student" class="popup">学生</span><span title="わりびき - discount" class="popup">割引</span>で<span title="かう - to buy" class="popup">買えます</span>。
<br />- If you're a student, you can buy with a student discount.
</p>

<p>For i-adjectives and verbs, it is very difficult to differentiate between the two types of conditionals,
and you can make life easier for yourself by considering them to be the same. However, if you must insist,
I searched around the web for an explanation of the difference that I can agree with.
Here is the <a href="http://homepage3.nifty.com/i-yasu/Lesson8.htm">original text</a>.  Basically, the 「たら」 conditional focuses on what happens after the condition.
This is another reason why I call this the past conditional because the condition is "in the past" (not literally) and we're interested in the result not the condition.  The
「ば」 conditional, on the other hand, focuses on the conditional part.
</p>

<p>Let's compare the difference in nuance.
<br />（A）　<span title="ともだち - friend" class="popup">友達</span>に<span title="あう - to meet" class="popup">会えれ<em>ば</em></span>、<span title="かいもの - shopping" class="popup">買い物</span>に<span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行きます</span>。- We will go shopping, <b>if</b> I can meet with my friend.
<br />（B）　<span title="ともだち - friend" class="popup">友達</span>に<span title="あう - to meet" class="popup">会え<em>たら</em></span>、<span title="かいもの - shopping" class="popup">買い物</span>に<span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行きます</span>。- If I can meet with my friend, <b>we will go shopping</b>.
</p>

<p>
（A）　<span title="おかね - money" class="popup">お金</span>が<span title="ある - to exist (inanimate)" class="popup">あれ<em>ば</em></span><span title="いい - good" class="popup">いい</span>ね。- It would be good, <b>if</b> I had money, huh?
<br />（B）　<span title="おかね - money" class="popup">お金</span>が<span title="ある - to exist (inanimate)" class="popup">あっ<em>たら</em></span><span title="いい - good" class="popup">いい</span>ね。- If I had money, <b>it would be good, huh</b>?
</p>

<p>Going by the context, the 「～たら」 form sounds more natural for both examples because it doesn't seem like we're really focusing on the condition itself.
We're probably more interested in what's going to happen once we meet the friend or how nice it would be if we had money.
</p>

<p>The past conditional is the only type of conditional where the result can be in the past.  It may seem strange to have an "if" when the result has
already taken place.  Indeed, in this usage, there really is no "if", it's just a way of expressing surprise at the result of the condition.  This has little to
do with conditionals but it is explained here because the grammatical structure is the same.
</p>

<p>（１）　<span title="いえ - house" class="popup">家</span>に<span title="かえる - to go home" class="popup">帰ったら</span>、<span title="だれも - nobody" class="popup">誰も</span><span title="いる - to exist (animate)" class="popup">いなかった</span>。
<br />- When I went home, there was no one there. (unexpected result)
</p>

<p>
（２）　<span title="アメリカ - America" class="popup">アメリカ</span>に<span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行ったら</span>、<span title="たくさん - to lot" class="popup">たくさん</span><span title="ふとる - to become fatter" class="popup">太りました</span>。
<br />- As a result of going to America, I got really fat. (unexpected result)
</p>

<p>
You can also use 「たら<em>ば</em>」 instead of 「たら」.  Similar to 「ならば」, this means exactly the same thing except that it has a more formal nuance.
</p>

<h2 id="part6.conditional.html">How does 「<span title="もし - if by any chance" class="popup">もし</span>」 fit into all of this?</h2>
Some of you may be aware of the word 「<span title="もし - if by any chance" class="popup">もし</span>」 which means "if" and may be wondering how it fits into all of this. Well, if you want to say a conditional, you need to
use one of the conditionals discussed above. 「<span title="もし - if by any chance" class="popup">もし</span>」 is really a supplement to add a sense of uncertainty on whether the condition is true.
For instance, you might use it when you want to make an invitation and you don't want to presume like the following example.
<p>（１）　<em><span title="もし - if by any chance" class="popup">もし</span></em><span title="いい - good" class="popup">よかった</span>ら、<span title="えいが - movie" class="popup">映画</span>を<span title="みる - to watch" class="popup">観</span>に<span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行きます</span>か？
<br />- If <em>by any chance</em> it's ok with you, go to watch movie?
</p>

<p>（２）　<em><span title="もし - if by any chance" class="popup">もし</span></em><span title="じかん - time" class="popup">時間</span>が<span title="ある - to exist (inanimate)" class="popup">ない</span>なら、<span title="あした - tomorrow" class="popup">明日</span>でも<span title="いい - good" class="popup">いい</span>よ。
<br />- If given that there's no time, tomorrow is fine as well. (Not certain whether there is no time)
</p>

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<p class="copyright">Copyright &copy; 2003-2007 Tae Kim (taekim.japanese AT gmail.com)</p>
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<div class="small" style="text-align:right;"><pre>This page has last been revised on 2006/9/14</pre></div>

<br class="break"/>
<h1>Things that must be done (or not)</h1>

<br /><br /><br />

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
<tr><td>
<div class="outline">
<!-- outline menu -->
<center><span class="summary">Outline</span></center>
<ol>
<li><a href="#part1.haveto.html">When there's something that must or must not be done</a></li>
<li><a href="#part2.haveto.html">Using 「<span title="だめ - no good" class="popup">だめ</span>」, 「<span title="いけない - must not do, not good" class="popup">いけない</span>」, and 「ならない」 for things that must not be done</a></li>
<li><a href="#part3.haveto.html">Expressing things that must be done</a></li>
<li><a href="#part4.haveto.html">Various short-cuts for the lazy</a></li>
<li><a href="#part5.haveto.html">Saying something is ok to do or not do</a></li>
</ol>
</div>
</td></tr>
</table>

<h2 id="part1.haveto.html">When there's something that must or must not be done</h2>
In life, there are things that we must or must not do whether it's taking out the trash or doing our homework.  We will cover
how to say this in Japanese because it is a useful expression and it also ties in well with the previous section.  We will also learn how to the
say the expression, "You don't have to..." to finish off this section.

<h2 id="part2.haveto.html">Using 「<span title="だめ - no good" class="popup">だめ</span>」, 「<span title="いけない - must not do, not good" class="popup">いけない</span>」, and 「ならない」 for things that must not be done</h2>
If you don't know what 「<span title="だめ - no good" class="popup">だめ</span>」（<span title="だめ - no good" class="popup">駄目</span>） means, I suggest looking it up in <a href="http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~jwb/wwwjdic.html">WWWJDIC</a>
and clicking on the [Ex] link to see the example sentences.  It essentially means "no good" but carefully check out the example sentences because it can be used in many different ways.
The other two key words in this section are  「<span title="いけない - must not do, not good" class="popup">いけない</span>」 and 「ならない」 and they have essentially the same basic meaning as 「<span title="だめ - no good" class="popup">だめ</span>」.
However, while 「<span title="いけない - must not do, not good" class="popup">いけない</span>」 can be used by itself, 「ならない」 must only be used in the grammar presented here.  In addition, while
「<span title="いけない - must not do, not good" class="popup">いけない</span>」 and 「ならない」 conjugate like i-adjectives they are not actual adjectives.
Let's learn how to use these words to express things that must not be done.

<div class="sumbox">
<span class="summary">How to say: Must not [verb]</span>
<ul>
<li>Take the <a href="compound.html#part3.haveto.html">te-form</a> of the verb, add the 「は」 (wa) particle  and finally attach either 「<span title="だめ - no good" class="popup">だめ</span>」、「<span title="いけない - must not do, not good" class="popup">いけない</span>」、or 「ならない」.
<br />例） <span title="はいる - to enter" class="popup">入る</span> → <span title="はいる - to enter" class="popup">入って</span> + は + <span title="だめ - no good" class="popup">だめ</span>／<span title="いけない - must not do, not good" class="popup">いけない</span>／ならない = <span title="はいる - to enter" class="popup">入って</span>は<span title="だめ - no good" class="popup">だめ</span>／<span title="はいる - to enter" class="popup">入って</span>は<span title="いけない - must not do, not good" class="popup">いけない</span>／<span title="はいる - to enter" class="popup">入って</span>はならない</li>
</ul>
</div>

<p>（１）　<span title="ここ - here" class="popup">ここ</span>に<em><span title="はいる - to enter" class="popup">入って</span>は</em><span title="いけない - must not do, not good" class="popup">いけません</span>。
<br />- You must not enter here.
</p>

<p>
（２）　<span title="それ - that" class="popup">それ</span>を<em><span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べて</span>は</em><span title="だめ - no good" class="popup">だめ</span>！
<br />- You can't (must not) eat that!
</p>

<p>
（３）　<span title="よる - evening" class="popup">夜</span>、<span title="おそい - late" class="popup">遅く</span><span title="まで - until" class="popup">まで</span><span title="でんわ - telephone" class="popup">電話</span><em><span title="する - to do" class="popup">して</span>は</em>ならない。
<br />- You must not use the phone until late at night.
</p>

<p>
（４）　<span title="はやい - fast, early" class="popup">早く</span><em><span title="ねる - sleep" class="popup">寝て</span>は</em>なりませんでした。
<br />- Wasn't allowed to sleep early.
</p>

<p>The difference between 「<span title="だめ - no good" class="popup">だめ</span>」、「<span title="いけない - must not do, not good" class="popup">いけない</span>」、and 「ならない」 is that, first of all, 「<span title="だめ - no good" class="popup">だめ</span>」 is casual.  While 「<span title="いけない - must not do, not good" class="popup">いけない</span>」 and 「ならない」 are basically
identical, 「ならない」 is generally more for things that apply to more than one person like rules and policies.
</p>

<h2 id="part3.haveto.html">Expressing things that must be done</h2>
You may have predicted that the opposite of "You must not do" would use 「<span title="いける - is possible, will work out" class="popup">いける</span>」 or 「<span title="なる - to become" class="popup">なる</span>」 because they look like the positive version of
「<span title="いけない - must not do, not good" class="popup">いけない</span>」 and 「ならない」.  But I already pointed out that
「<span title="いけない - must not do, not good" class="popup">いけない</span>」 and 「ならない」 must always be negative, so this is not correct.  In actuality, we still use the same 「<span title="だめ - no good" class="popup">だめ</span>／<span title="いけない - must not do, not good" class="popup">いけない</span>／ならない」 but instead
we take the opposite of the verb that goes in front of it.  This double negative can be kind of confusing at first but you will get used to it with
practice.  There are three ways to conjugate the verb before
adding 「<span title="だめ - no good" class="popup">だめ</span>／<span title="いけない - must not do, not good" class="popup">いけない</span>／ならない」 and two of them involve conditionals so aren't you glad that you just learned conditionals in the previous section?

<div class="sumbox">
<span class="summary">How to say: Must [verb]</span>
<ol>
<li><a href="compound.html#part3.haveto.html">Negative te-form</a> + 「は」 (wa) particle + <span title="だめ - no good" class="popup">だめ</span>／<span title="いけない - must not do, not good" class="popup">いけない</span>／ならない</li>
<li><a href="negverb.html#part2.haveto.html">Negative verb</a> + 「と」 conditional + <span title="だめ - no good" class="popup">だめ</span>／<span title="いけない - must not do, not good" class="popup">いけない</span>／ならない</li>
<li><a href="negverb.html#part2.haveto.html">Negative verb</a> + 「ば」 conditional + <span title="だめ - no good" class="popup">だめ</span>／<span title="いけない - must not do, not good" class="popup">いけない</span>／ならない</li>
</ol>
</div>

<p>
●The first method is the same as the "must not do" grammar form except that we simply negated the verb.
</p>
<p>
（１）　<span title="まいにち - every day" class="popup">毎日</span><span title="がっこう - school" class="popup">学校</span>に<em><span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行かなくて</span>は</em>なりません。- Must go to school everyday.
</p>

<p>
（２）　<span title="しゅくだい - homework" class="popup">宿題</span>を<em><span title="する - to do" class="popup">しなくて</span>は</em><span title="いけない - must not do, not good" class="popup">いけなかった</span>。- Had to do homework.
</p>

<p>
●The second method uses the natural conditional that we learned in the last lesson.  Literally, it means if you don't do something, then it automatically
leads to the fact that it is no good.  (In other words, you must do it.) However, people tend to use it for situations beyond the natural consequence
characterization that we learned from the last section because it's shorter and easier to use than the other two types of grammar.
</p>
<p>
（１）　<span title="まいにち - every day" class="popup">毎日</span><span title="がっこう - school" class="popup">学校</span>に<em><span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行かない</span>と</em><span title="だめ - no good" class="popup">だめ</span>です。- Must go to school everyday.
</p>
<p>
（２）　<span title="しゅくだい - homework" class="popup">宿題</span>を<em><span title="する - to do" class="popup">しない</span>と</em><span title="いけない - must not do, not good" class="popup">いけない</span>。- Have to do homework.
</p>

<p>
●The third method is similar to the second except that it uses a different type of conditional as explained in the last lesson.  With the 「ば」 conditional, it can be
used for a wider range of situations.  Note that since the verb is always negative,
for the 「ば」 conditional, we will always be removing the last 「い」 and adding 「ければ」.
</p>
<p>
（１）　<span title="まいにち - every day" class="popup">毎日</span><span title="がっこう - school" class="popup">学校</span>に<em><span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行かなければ</span></em><span title="いけない - must not do, not good" class="popup">いけません</span>。 - Must go to school everyday.
</p>
<p>
（２）　<span title="しゅくだい - homework" class="popup">宿題</span>を<em><span title="する - to do" class="popup">しなければ</span></em><span title="だめ - no good" class="popup">だめ</span>だった。- Had to do homework.
</p>

<p>It may seem like I just breezed through a whole lot of material because there are three grammar forms and
「<span title="だめ - no good" class="popup">だめ</span>／<span title="いけない - must not do, not good" class="popup">いけない</span>／ならない」 adding up to nine possible combinations (3x3).  However, some combinations are more common than others but I
did not explicitly point out which were more common because any combination is technically correct and going over style would merely confuse
at this point.
Also, keep in mind that there is nothing essentially new in terms of conjugation rules.  We already covered conditionals in the last lesson and
adding the wa particle to the te-form in the beginning of this section.
</p>

<h3>※ Reality Check</h3>
Although we spent the last section explaining 「～なければ」 and 「～なくては」, the reality is that because they are so long,
they are practically never used in real conversations. While they are often used in a written conetext, in actual speech, people usually use the 「と」 conditional
or the various shortcuts described below. In casual speech, the 「と」 conditional is the most prevalent type of conditional. Though I explained in depth the meaning associated with the
「と」 conditional, you have to take it with a grain of salt here because people are inherently lazy.


<h2 id="part4.haveto.html">Various short-cuts for the lazy</h2>
You may have been grumbling and complaining about how long most of the expressions are just to say you must do something.
You can end up with up to eight additional syllables just to say "I have to..."!
<p>
Well, others have thought the same before and people usually use short abbreviated versions of 「なくては」 and 「なければ」 in casual speech.
Teachers are often reluctant to teach these overly familiar expressions
because they are so much easier to use which is bad for times when they might not be appropriate.  But, on the other hand, if you don't learn
casual expressions, it makes it difficult to understand your friends
(or would-be friends if you only knew how to speak less stiffly!).  So here they are but
take care to properly practice the longer forms so that you will be able to use them for the appropriate occasions.
</p>

<div class="sumbox">
<span class="summary">Casual abbreviations for things that must be done</span>
<ol>
<li>Simply replace 「なくて」 with 「なくちゃ」</li>
<li>Simply replace 「なければ」 with 「なきゃ」</li>
</ol>
</div>

<p>Right now, you may be saying, "What the?" because the "abbreviations" are about the same length as what we've already covered.  The
secret here is that, unlike the expressions we learned so far, you can just leave the 「<span title="だめ - no good" class="popup">だめ</span>／<span title="いけない - must not do, not good" class="popup">いけない</span>／ならない」 part out altogether!
</p>

<p>（１）　<span title="べんきょう - study" class="popup">勉強</span><span title="する - to do" class="popup">し<em>なくちゃ</em></span>。 - Gotta study.
<br />（２）　<span title="ごはん - meal" class="popup">ご飯</span>を<span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べ<em>なきゃ</em></span>。 - Gotta eat.
</p>

<p>The 「と」 conditional is also used by itself to imply 「<span title="だめ - no good" class="popup">だめ</span>／<span title="いけない - must not do, not good" class="popup">いけない</span>／ならない」.
<br />（１）　<span title="がっこう - school" class="popup">学校</span>に<span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行かない</span><em>と</em>。－Gotta go to school.
</p>

<p>
There is another 「ちゃ」 abbreviation for things that you must <u>not do</u>. However, in this case, you cannot leave out the 「<span title="だめ - no good" class="popup">だめ</span>／<span title="いけない - must not do, not good" class="popup">いけない</span>／ならない」 part out.
Since this <i>is</i> a casual abbreviation, 「<span title="だめ - no good" class="popup">だめ</span>」 is used in most cases.
</p>

<p>
One very important difference for this casual form is that verbs that end in 「む」、「ぶ」、「ぬ」 use 「じゃ」 instead of 「ちゃ」. Essentially, all the verbs that end in
「んだ」 for past tense fall in this category as you can see by <a href="pastverb.html#part3.haveto.html">this chart</a>.
</p>

<div class="sumbox">
<span class="summary">Casual abbreviations for things that must <u>not</u> be done</span>
<ol>
<li>Replace 「ては」 with 「ちゃ」</li>
<li>Replace 「では」 with 「じゃ」</li>
</ol>
</div>

<p>
（１）　<span title="ここ - here" class="popup">ここ</span>に<em><span title="はいる - to enter" class="popup">入っちゃ</span></em><span title="だめ - no good" class="popup">だめ</span>だよ。 - You can't enter here.
<br />
（２）　<em><span title="しぬ - to die" class="popup">死んじゃ</span></em><span title="だめ - no good" class="popup">だめ</span>だよ！ - You can't die!
</p>

<p>On a final note, in general, 「ちゃ」 sounds a bit cutesy or girly.  You've already seen an example of this with the 「ちゃん」 suffix.
Similarly, 「なくちゃ」 also sounds a bit cutesy or childish.
</p>

<h2 id="part5.haveto.html">Saying something is ok to do or not do</h2>
Now let's learn how to say either that it's ok to do or not do something.  I decided to shove this section in here because in Japanese, this
is essential how to say that you don't have to something (by saying it's ok to not do it).  The grammar itself is also relatively
easy to pick up and makes for a short section.
<p>By simply using the te-form and the 「も」 particle, you are essentially saying, "even if you do X..."  Common words that come after this include
「<span title="いい - good" class="popup">いい</span>」, 「<span title="だいじょうぶ - ok" class="popup">大丈夫</span>」, or 「<span title="かまう - to mind, to be concerned about" class="popup">構わない</span>」.  Some examples will come in handy.
</p>

<p>（１）　<span title="ぜんぶ - all" class="popup">全部</span><span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べ<em>ても</em></span><span title="いい - good" class="popup">いい</span>よ。- You can go ahead and eat it all.  (lit: Even if you eat it all, it's good, you know.)
<br />（２）　<span title="ぜんぶ - all" class="popup">全部</span><span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べなく<em>ても</em></span><span title="いい - good" class="popup">いい</span>よ。- You don't have to eat it all. (lit: Even if you don't eat it all, it's good, you know.)
<br />（３）　<span title="ぜんぶ - all" class="popup">全部</span><span title="のむ - to drink" class="popup">飲ん<em>でも</em></span><span title="だいじょうぶ - ok" class="popup">大丈夫</span>だよ。- It's OK if you drink it all. (lit: Even if you drink it all, it's OK, you know.)
<br />（４）　<span title="ぜんぶ - all" class="popup">全部</span><span title="のむ - to drink" class="popup">飲ん<em>でも</em></span><span title="かまう - to mind, to be concerned about" class="popup">構わない</span>よ。- I don't mind if you drink it all. (lit: Even if you drink it all, I don't mind, you know.)
</p>

<p>In casual speech, 「～ても<span title="いい - good" class="popup">いい</span>」 sometimes get shortened to just 「～て<span title="いい - good" class="popup">いい</span>」.
<br />（１）　<span title="もう - already" class="popup">もう</span><span title="かえる - to go home" class="popup">帰っ<em>て</em></span><em><span title="いい - good" class="popup">いい</span></em>？- Can I go home already?
<br />（２）　<span title="これ - this" class="popup">これ</span>、<span title="ちょっと - just a little" class="popup">ちょっと</span><span title="みる - to see" class="popup">見<em>て</em></span><em><span title="いい - good" class="popup">いい</span></em>？- Can I take a quick look at this?
</p>

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<div class="small" style="text-align:right;"><pre>This page has last been revised on 2006/9/15</pre></div>

<br class="break"/>
<h1>Desire and Suggestions</h1>

<br /><br /><br />

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
<tr><td>
<div class="outline">
<!-- outline menu -->
<center><span class="summary">Outline</span></center>
<ol>
<li><a href="#part1.desire.html">How to get your way in Japan</a></li>
<li><a href="#part2.desire.html">Verbs you want to do with 「たい」</a></li>
<li><a href="#part3.desire.html">Indicating things you want or want done using 「<span title="ほしい - wanted, desirable" class="popup">欲しい</span>」</a></li>
<li><a href="#part4.desire.html">Making a motion to do something using the volitional form (casual)</a></li>
<li><a href="#part5.desire.html">Making a motion to do something using the volitional form (polite)</a></li>
<li><a href="#part6.desire.html">Making Suggestions using the 「ば」 or 「たら」 conditional</a></li>
</ol>
</div>
</td></tr>
</table>

<h2 id="part1.desire.html">How to get your way in Japan</h2>
We will now learn how to say what you want either by just coming out and saying it or by making discreet suggestions.  The major
topics we will cover will be the 「たい」 conjugation and the volitional form.  We will also learn specialized uses of the 「たら」 and 「ば」 conditionals to
offer advice.

<h2 id="part2.desire.html">Verbs you want to do with 「たい」</h2>
You can express verbs that you <i>want</i> to perform with the 「たい」 form.  All you need to do is add 「たい」 to the <a href="polite.html#part2.desire.html">stem of the verb</a>.
However, unlike most conjugations we learned where the verb turns into a ru-verb, this form actually transforms the verb into an i-adjective
(notice how 「たい」 conveniently ends in 「い」).  This makes sense because the conjugated form is a description of something that you
want to do.  Once you have the 「たい」 form, you can then conjugate it the same as you would any other i-adjective.  However, the 「たい」 form
is different from regular i-adjectives because it is derived from a verb.  This means that all the particles we normally associate with verbs such as
「を」、「に」、「へ」、or 「で」 can all be used with the 「たい」 form, which is not true for regular i-adjectives.  Here's a chart just for you.
<p />
<center>
<table border="1" cellpadding="5">
<caption>「たい」 conjugations</caption>
<tr align="center"><th></th><th>Positive</th><th>Negative</th></tr>
<tr align="center"><th>Non-Past</th><td><span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行きたい</span></td><td><span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行きたくない</span></td></tr>
<tr align="center"><th>Past</th><td><span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行きたかった</span></td><td><span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行きたくなかった</span></td></tr>
</table>
</center>

<h3>Examples</h3>
<p>
（１）　<span title="なに - what" class="popup">何</span>を<em><span title="する - to do" class="popup">したい</span></em>ですか。
<br />- What do you want to do?
</p>
<p>
（２）　<span title="おんせん - hotspring" class="popup">温泉</span>に<em><span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行きたい</span></em>。
<br />- I want to go to hot spring.
</p>
<p>
（３）　<span title="ケーキ - cake" class="popup">ケーキ</span>、<em><span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べたくない</span></em>の？
<br />- You don't want to eat cake?
</p>
<p>
（４）　<em><span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べたくなかった</span></em>けど<em><span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べたくなった</span></em>。
<br />- I didn't want to eat it but I became wanting to eat.
</p>

<p>Example （４） was very awkward to translate but is quite simple in Japanese if you refer to "<a href="surunaru.html#part3.desire.html">Using 「<span title="なる - to become" class="popup">なる</span>」 with i-adjectives</a>".
The past tense of the verb 「<span title="なる - to become" class="popup">なる</span>」 was used to create "became want to eat".  Here's a tongue twister using the
negative 「～たくない」 and past-tense of 「<span title="なる - to become" class="popup">なる</span>」： 「<span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べたくなくなった</span>」 meaning "became not wanting to eat".
</p>

<p>This may seem obvious but 「<span title="ある - to exist (inanimate)" class="popup">ある</span>」 cannot have a 「たい」 form because inanimate objects cannot want anything.  However, 「<span title="いる - to exist (animate)" class="popup">いる</span>」 can be used with
the 「たい」 form in examples like the one below.
</p>

<p>
（５）　<span title="ずっと - long time" class="popup">ずっと</span><span title="いっしょ - together" class="popup">一緒</span>に<em><span title="いる - to exist (animate)" class="popup">いたい</span></em>。
<br />- I want to be together forever. (lit: Want to exist together for long time.)
</p>

<p>Also, you can only use the 「たい」 form for the first-person because you cannot read other people's mind to see what
they want to do.  For referring to anyone beside yourself, it is normal to use expressions such as, "I think he wants to..." or "She said that she wants to..."
We will learn how to say such expressions in a <a href="quotation.html#part3.desire.html">later lesson</a>.  Of course, if you're asking a question,
you can just use the 「たい」 form because you're not presuming to know anything.

<p>
（６）　<span title="いぬ - dog" class="popup">犬</span>と<em><span title="あそぶ - to play" class="popup">遊びたい</span></em>ですか。
<br />- Do you want to play with dog?
</p>

<h2 id="part3.desire.html">Indicating things you want or want done using 「<span title="ほしい - wanted, desirable" class="popup">欲しい</span>」</h2>
In English, we employ a verb to say that we want something.  In Japanese, "to want" is actually an i-adjective and not a verb.  We saw something similar
with 「<span title="すき - like" class="popup">好き</span>」 which is an adjective while "to like" in English is a verb.  While I didn't get too much into the workings of 「<span title="すき - like" class="popup">好き</span>」, I have dedicated
a whole section to 「<span title="ほしい - wanted, desirable" class="popup">欲しい</span>」 because it means, "to want something done" when combined with the te-form of a verb.  We will learn a more
polite and appropriate way to make requests in the <a href="requests.html">"Making Requests"</a> lesson instead of saying, "I want this done."

<p>
Though not a set rule, whenever words come
attached to the te-form of a verb to serve a special grammatical function, it is customary to write it in hiragana.  This is because kanji is already
used for the verb and the attached word becomes part of that verb.
</p>

<h3>Examples</h3>
<p>
（１）　<span title="おおきい - big" class="popup">大きい</span><span title="ぬいぐるみ - stuffed doll" class="popup">縫いぐるみ</span>が<em><span title="ほしい - wanted, desirable" class="popup">欲しい</span></em>！
<br />- I want a big stuffed doll!
</p>
<p>
（２）　<span title="ぜんぶ - all" class="popup">全部</span><em><span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べて</span><span title="ほしい - wanted, desirable" class="popup">ほしい</span></em>んだけど・・・。
<br />- I want it all eaten but...
</p>
<p>
（３）　<span title="へや - room" class="popup">部屋</span>を<span title="きれい - neat, pretty" class="popup">きれい</span>に<em><span title="する - to do" class="popup">して</span><span title="ほしい - wanted, desirable" class="popup">ほしい</span></em>のよ。
<br />- It is that I want the room cleaned up, you know.
</p>

<p>Like I mentioned, there are more appropriate ways to ask for things which we won't go into <a href="requests.html">until later</a>.  This grammar is not used too often but
is included for completeness.
</p>

<h2 id="part4.desire.html">Making a motion to do something using the volitional form (casual)</h2>
The term volitional here means a will to do something.  In other words, the volitional form indicates that someone is setting out to do something.
In the most common example, this simply translates into the English "let's" or "shall we?" but we'll also see how this form can be used to express an effort to do something in a <a href="try.html#part3.desire.html">lesson further along</a>.
<p>To conjugate verbs into the volitional form for casual speech, there are two different rules for ru-verbs and u-verbs.  For ru-verbs, you simply
remove the 「る」 and add 「よう」.  For u-verbs, you replace the / u / vowel sound with the / o / vowel sound and add 「う」.
</p>

<div class="sumbox">
<span class="summary">Conjugations rules for the casual volitional form</span>
<ul>
<li>For ru-verbs: Remove the 「る」 and add 「よう」
<br />例） <span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べ<em><strike>る</strike></em></span> → <span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べ</span> + <em>よう</em> → <span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べよう</span></li>
<li>For u-verbs: Replace the / u / vowel sound with the / o / vowel sound and add 「う」
<br />例） <span title="はいる - to enter" class="popup">入<em><strike>る</strike></em></span> → <span title="はいる - to enter" class="popup">入<em>ろ</em></span> + <em>う</em> → <span title="はいる - to enter" class="popup">入ろう</span></li>
</ul>
</div>

<center>Here is a list of verbs you should be used to seeing by now.</center>

<table align="center" border="0">
<tr>
<td>
<table border="1" cellpadding="5">
<caption>Sample ru-verbs</caption>
<tr align="center"><th>Plain</th><th>Volitional</th></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べ<em>る</em></span></td><td><span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べ<em>よう</em></span></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="きる - to wear" class="popup">着<em>る</em></span></td><td><span title="きる - to wear" class="popup">着<em>よう</em></span></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="しんじる - to believe" class="popup">信じ<em>る</em></span></td><td><span title="しんじる - to believe" class="popup">信じ<em>よう</em></span></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="ねる - to sleep" class="popup">寝<em>る</em></span></td><td><span title="ねる - to sleep" class="popup">寝<em>よう</em></span></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="おきる - to get up" class="popup">起き<em>る</em></span></td><td><span title="おきる - to get up" class="popup">起き<em>よう</em></span></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="でる - to come out" class="popup">出<em>る</em></span></td><td><span title="でる - to come out" class="popup">出<em>よう</em></span></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="かける - to hang" class="popup">掛け<em>る</em></span></td><td><span title="かける - to hang" class="popup">掛け<em>よう</em></span></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="すてる - to throw away" class="popup">捨て<em>る</em></span></td><td><span title="すてる - to throw away" class="popup">捨て<em>よう</em></span></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="しらべる - to investigate" class="popup">調べ<em>る</em></span></td><td><span title="しらべる - to investigate" class="popup">調べ<em>よう</em></span></td></tr>

</table>
</td>


<td rowspan="2">
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
</td>

<td>
<table border="1" cellpadding="5">
<caption>Sample u-verbs</caption>
<tr align="center"><th>Plain</th><th>Volitional</th>
<th>ローマ字</th><th>ローマ字 (Vol.)</th></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="はなす - to speak" class="popup">話<em>す</em></span></td><td><span title="はなす - to speak" class="popup">話<em>そう</em></span></td>
<td>hanas<em>u</em></td><td>hanas<em>ou</em></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="きく - to hear, to ask" class="popup">聞<em>く</em></span></td><td><span title="きく - to hear, to ask" class="popup">聞<em>こう</em></span></td>
<td>kik<em>u</em></td><td>kik<em>ou</em></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="およぐ - to swim" class="popup">泳<em>ぐ</em></span></td><td><span title="およぐ - to swim" class="popup">泳<em>ごう</em></span></td>
<td>oyog<em>u</em></td><td>oyog<em>ou</em></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="あそぶ - to play" class="popup">遊<em>ぶ</em></span></td><td><span title="あそぶ - to play" class="popup">遊<em>ぼう</em></span></td>
<td>asob<em>u</em></td><td>asob<em>ou</em></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="まつ - to wait" class="popup">待<em>つ</em></span></td><td><span title="まつ - to wait" class="popup">待<em>とう</em></span></td>
<td>mat<em>u</em></td><td>mat<em>ou</em></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="のむ - to drink" class="popup">飲<em>む</em></span></td><td><span title="のむ - to drink" class="popup">飲<em>もう</em></span></td>
<td>nom<em>u</em></td><td>nom<em>ou</em></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="なおる - to be fixed" class="popup">直<em>る</em></span></td><td><span title="なおる - to be fixed" class="popup">直<em>ろう</em></span></td><td>naor<em>u</em></td>
<td>naor<em>ou</em></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="しぬ - to die" class="popup">死<em>ぬ</em></span></td><td><span title="しぬ - to die" class="popup">死<em>のう</em></span></td><td>shin<em>u</em></td>
<td>shin<em>ou</em></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="かう - to buy" class="popup">買<em>う</em></span></td><td><span title="かう - to buy" class="popup">買<em>おう</em></span></td><td>ka<em>u</em></td>
<td>ka<em>ou</em></td></tr>

</table>
</td>

<td rowspan="2">
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
</td>


<td valign="top">
<table border="1" cellpadding="5">
<caption>Exception Verbs</caption>
<tr align="center"><th>Plain</th><th>Volitional</th></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="する - to do" class="popup">する</span></td><td><span title="する - to do" class="popup">しよう</span></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="くる - to come" class="popup">くる</span></td><td><span title="くる - to come" class="popup">こよう</span></td></tr>

</table>
</td>
</tr>
</table>

<h3>Examples</h3>
I doubt you will ever use 「<span title="しぬ - to die" class="popup">死のう</span>」 (let's die) but I left it in for completeness.  Here are some more realistic examples.

<p>
（１）　<span title="きょう - today" class="popup">今日</span>は<span title="なに - what" class="popup">何</span>を<em><span title="する - to do" class="popup">しよう</span></em>か？
<br />- What shall [we] do today?
</p>

<p>
（２）　<span title="テーマパーク - theme park" class="popup">テーマパーク</span>に<em><span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行こう</span></em>！
<br />- Let's go to theme park!
</p>

<p>
（３）　<span title="あした - tomorrow" class="popup">明日</span>は<span title="なに - what" class="popup">何</span>を<em><span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べよう</span></em>か？
<br />- What shall [we] eat tomorrow?
</p>

<p>
（４）　<span title="カレー - curry" class="popup">カレー</span>を<em><span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べよう</span></em>！
<br />- Let's eat curry!
</p>

<p>Remember, since you're setting out to do something, it doesn't make sense to have this verb in the past tense.  Therefore, there is only one
tense and if you were to replace 「<span title="あした - tomorrow" class="popup">明日</span>」 in （３） with, for example, 「<span title="きのう - yesterday" class="popup">昨日</span>」 then the sentence would make no sense.
</p>

<h2 id="part5.desire.html">Making a motion to do something using the volitional form (polite)</h2>
The conjugation for the polite form is even simpler.  All you have
to do is add 「～ましょう」 to the stem of the verb.  Similar to the masu-form, verbs in this form must always come at the end of the sentence.  In
fact, all polite endings must always come at the end and nowhere else as we've <a href="polite.html#part3.desire.html">already seen</a>.


<div class="sumbox">
<span class="summary">Conjugations rules for the polite volitional form</span>
<ul>
<li>For all verbs: Add 「～ましょう」 to the <a href="polite.html#part2.desire.html">stem of the verb</a>
<br />例） <span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べ<em><strike>る</strike></em></span> → <span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べ</span> + <em>ましょう</em> → <span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べましょう</span>
<br />例） <span title="はいる - to enter" class="popup">入<em><strike>る</strike></em></span> → <span title="はいる - to enter" class="popup">入<em>り</em></span> + <em>ましょう</em> → <span title="はいる - to enter" class="popup">入りましょう</span></li>
</ul>
</div>

<center>
<table border="1" cellpadding="5">
<caption>Sample verbs</caption>
<tr align="center"><th>Plain</th><th>Volitional</th></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="する - to do" class="popup">する</span></td><td><span title="する - to do" class="popup">し<em>ましょう</em></span></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="くる - to come" class="popup">くる</span></td><td><span title="くる - to come" class="popup">き<em>ましょう</em></span></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="ねる - to sleep" class="popup">寝る</span></td><td><span title="ねる - to sleep" class="popup">寝<em>ましょう</em></span></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行く</span></td><td><span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行き<em>ましょう</em></span></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="あそぶ - to play" class="popup">遊ぶ</span></td><td><span title="あそぶ - to play" class="popup">遊び<em>ましょう</em></span></td></tr>
</table>
</center>

<h3>Examples</h3>
Again, there's nothing new here, just the polite version of the volitional form.

<p>
（１）　<span title="きょう - today" class="popup">今日</span>は<span title="なに - what" class="popup">何</span>を<em><span title="する - to do" class="popup">しましょう</span></em>か？
<br />- What shall [we] do today?
<p>
</p>
（２）　<span title="テーマパーク - theme park" class="popup">テーマパーク</span>に<em><span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行きましょう</span></em>
<br />- Let's go to theme park!
</p>
<p>
（３）　<span title="あした - tomorrow" class="popup">明日</span>は<span title="なに - what" class="popup">何</span>を<em><span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べましょう</span></em>か？
<br />- What shall [we] eat tomorrow?
</p>
<p>
（４）　<span title="カレー - curry" class="popup">カレー</span>を<em><span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べましょう</span></em>
<br />- Let's eat curry!
</p>

<h2 id="part6.desire.html">Making Suggestions using the 「ば」 or 「たら」 conditional</h2>
You can make suggestions by using the 「ば」 or 「たら」 conditional and adding 「<span title="どう - how" class="popup">どう</span>」.  This literally means, "If you do [X], how is it?"  In English,
this would become, "How about doing [X]?"  Grammatically, there's nothing new here but it is a commonly used set phrase.
<h3>Examples</h3>
<p>
（１）　<span title="ぎんこう - bank" class="popup">銀行</span>に<em><span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行ったら</span><span title="どう - how" class="popup">どう</span></em>ですか。
<br />- How about going to bank?
</p>
<p>
（２）　<span title="たまに - once in a while" class="popup">たまに</span>ご<span title="りょうしん - parents" class="popup">両親</span>と<em><span title="はなす - to speak" class="popup">話せば</span><span title="どう - how" class="popup">どう</span></em>？
<br />- How about talking with your parents once in a while?
</p>

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<p class="copyright">Copyright &copy; 2003-2007 Tae Kim (taekim.japanese AT gmail.com)</p>
<p>
<a href="http://www.guidetojapanese.org/forum/viewforum.php?id=18">Report a correction or suggestion for this page</a>
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<div class="small" style="text-align:right;"><pre>This page has last been revised on 2005/3/26</pre></div>

<br class="break"/>
<h1>"He said, 'he said'," he said.</h1>

<br /><br /><br />

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
<tr><td>
<div class="outline">
<!-- outline menu -->
<center><span class="summary">Outline</span></center>
<ol>
<li><a href="#part1.quotation.html">Performing an action on a subordinate clause</a></li>
<li><a href="#part2.quotation.html">The direct quote</a></li>
<li><a href="#part3.quotation.html">The interpreted quote</a></li>
<li><a href="#part4.quotation.html">Using 「って」 as a casual version of 「と」</a></li>
</ol>
</div>
</td></tr>
</table>

<h2 id="part1.quotation.html">Performing an action on a subordinate clause</h2>
In the section about <a href="subclause.html">modifying subordinate clauses</a>, we learned how to treat a subordinate clause like an adjective to directly
modify a noun.  We will extend the functionality of subordinate clauses by learning how to perform an action on a subordinate clause.  Obviously, we cannot simply
attach the 「を」 particle to a subordinate clause because the 「を」 particle only applies to noun phrases.  We need something to encapsulate the
subordinate clause into a unit that we can perform actions on.  This is done by making a quoted phrase.

<p>While in English, you can just add quotes and a comma to make a quotation, Japanese requires attaching 「と」 at the end of the quote.  This is
completely different from the <a href="particles3.html#part2.quotation.html">「と」 particle</a> and the <a href="conditional.html#part2.quotation.html">「と」 conditional</a>.
Unlike quotes in English, we can perform many different types of actions on the
quote besides the standard "he said", "she said", etc.  For example, we can perform the action, "to think" or "to hear" to produce phrases such as, "I think [subclause]" or "I heard [subclause]"
This is very important in Japanese because Japanese people seldom affirm definite statements.
This also why we will have to eventually cover many other types of grammar to <a href="certainty.html">express uncertainty or probability</a>.
</p>

<h2 id="part2.quotation.html">The direct quote</h2>
We'll learn the simplest type of quoted phrase, which is the direct quote.  Basically, you are directly quoting something that was said.
This is done by simply enclosing the statement in quotes, adding 「と」 and then inserting the appropriate verb.  The most common verbs associated
with a direct quote would be 「<span title="いう - to say" class="popup">言う</span>」 and 「<span title="きく - to ask, to hear" class="popup">聞く</span>」 but you may use any verbs related
to direct quotation such as: 「<span title="さけぶ - to scream" class="popup">叫ぶ</span>」, 「<span title="よぶ - to call" class="popup">呼ぶ</span>」, 「<span title="つぶやく - to mutter" class="popup">呟く</span>」, etc.
This type of quotation is often used for dialogue in novels and other narrative works.

<h3>Examples</h3>
<p>
（１）　アリスが、<em>「<span title="さむい - cold" class="popup">寒い</span>」と</em><span title="いう - to say" class="popup">言った</span>。
<br />- Alice said, "Cold".
</p>

<p>
（２）　<em>「<span title="きょう - today" class="popup">今日</span>は<span title="じゅぎょう - class" class="popup">授業</span>が<span title="ある - to exist (inanimate)" class="popup">ない</span>」と</em><span title="せんせい - teacher" class="popup">先生</span>から<span title="きく - to ask, to hear" class="popup">聞いた</span>んだけど。<br />- It is that I heard from the teacher, "There is no class today."
</p>

<p>The verb does not need to be directly connected to the subordinate clause.  As long as the verb that applies to the subordinate clause comes before any other verb, you can have any number of adjectives, adverbs or nouns in between.
</p>

<p>
（１）　<em>「<span title="さむい - cold" class="popup">寒い</span>」と</em>アリスが<span title="たなか - Tanaka" class="popup">田中</span>に<em><span title="いう - to say" class="popup">言った</span></em>。<br />- "Cold," Alice said to Tanaka.
</p>

<h2 id="part3.quotation.html">The interpreted quote</h2>
The second type of quote is the quote along the lines of what someone actually said.  It's not a word-for-word quote.  Since this is not a
direct quote, no quotations are needed.  You can also express thoughts as an interpreted quote as well.  By using this and the verb 「<span title="おもう - to think" class="popup">思う</span>」 you can
say you think that something is so-and-so.  You will hear Japanese people use this all the time.  You can also use the verb 「<span title="かんがえる - to ponder" class="popup">考える</span>」 when you
are considering something.

<h3>Examples</h3>
<p>
（１）　<span title="せんせい - teacher" class="popup">先生</span>から<em><span title="きょう - today" class="popup">今日</span>は<span title="じゅぎょう - class" class="popup">授業</span>が<span title="ある - to exist (inanimate)" class="popup">ない</span>と</em><span title="きく - to ask, to hear" class="popup">聞いた</span>んだけど。
<br />- I heard from the teacher that there is no class today.
</p>

<p>（２）　<span title="これ - this" class="popup">これ</span>は、<span title="にほんご - Japanese language" class="popup">日本語</span>で<em><span title="なん - what" class="popup">何</span>と</em><span title="いう - to say" class="popup">言います</span>か。<br />- What do you call this in Japanese? (lit: About this, what do you say in Japanese?)
</p>

<p>
（３）　<span title="わたし - me, myself, I" class="popup">私</span>は、アリス<em>と<span title="いう - to say" class="popup">言います</span></em>。<br />- I am called Alice. (lit: As for me, you say Alice.)
</p>

<p>In an interpreted quote, the meaning of 「<span title="いう - to say" class="popup">言う</span>」 may change as you see in examples （２） and （３）.  Actually, as you can see from the literal translation,
the meaning remains the same in Japanese but changes only when translated to normal English. (We'll learn more about various ways to use 「<span title="いう - to say" class="popup">いう</span>」 in the <a href="define.html">next lesson</a>.)
</p>

<p>
Here are some examples of thoughts being used as quoted subordinate clauses. In example （５）, the <a href="question.html#part3.quotation.html">question marker</a> is used with the <a href="desire.html#part4.quotation.html">volitional</a> to insert an embedded question.
</p>

<p>
（４）　<span title="カレー - curry" class="popup">カレー</span>を<span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べよう</span><em>と<span title="おもう - to think" class="popup">思った</span></em>けど、<span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べる</span><span title="じかん - time" class="popup">時間</span>が<span title="ある - to exist (inanimate)" class="popup">なかった</span>。
<br />- I thought about setting out to eat curry but I didn't have time to eat.
</p>

<p>
（５）　<span title="いま - now" class="popup">今</span>、<span title="どこ - where" class="popup">どこ</span>に<span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行こう</span>か<em>と<span title="かんがえる - to ponder" class="popup">考えている</span></em>。
<br />- Now, I'm considering where to set out to go.

<p>
Unlike the direct quotation, which you can just copy as is, if the quoted subordinate clause is a state-of-being for a noun or na-adjective, you have to
explicitly include the declarative 「だ」 to show this.
</p>

<p>（１）　<span title="かれ - he" class="popup">彼</span>は、<span title="これ - this" class="popup">これ</span>は<span title="なん - what" class="popup">何</span><em>だと</em><span title="いう - to say" class="popup">言いました</span>か。
<br />- What did he say this <em>is</em>?
</p>

<p>
（２）　<span title="かれ - he" class="popup">彼</span>は<span title="こうこうせい - high school student" class="popup">高校生</span><em>だと</em><span title="きく - to ask, to hear" class="popup">聞いた</span>けど、<span title="しんじる - to believe" class="popup">信じられない</span>。
<br />- I heard that he <em>is</em> a high school student but I can't believe it.
</p>

<p>Notice how 「だ」 was added to explicitly declare the state-of-being that is highlighted in the English translation. You can really see how important the 「だ」 is here by comparing the following two sentences.
</p>

<p>（A）　<span title="これ - this" class="popup">これ</span>は<span title="なん - what" class="popup">何</span><em>だと</em><span title="いう - to say" class="popup">言いました</span>か。
<br />- What did [he] say this <em>is</em>?
</p>

<p>
（B）　<span title="なん - what" class="popup">何</span><em>と</em><span title="いう - to say" class="popup">言いました</span>か。
<br />- What did [he] say?
</p>


<h2 id="part4.quotation.html">Using 「って」 as a casual version of 「と」</h2>
You may be surprised to hear that there is a shorter and casual version of the quoted subordinate clause since it's already only one hiragana
character, 「と」.  However, the important point here is that by using this casual shortcut, you can drop the rest of the sentence and hope your audience can
understand everything from context.

<h3>Examples</h3>
<p>（１）　<span title="ともこ - Tomoko" class="popup">智子</span>は<span title="らいねん - next year" class="popup">来年</span>、<span title="かいがい - overseas" class="popup">海外</span>に<span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行く</span>んだ<em>って</em>。
<br />- Tomoko said that she's going overseas next year.
</p>
<p>（２）　<span title="もう - already" class="popup">もう</span>お<span title="おかね - money" class="popup">金</span>が<span title="ある - to exist (inanimate)" class="popup">ない</span><em>って</em>。
<br />- I already told you I have no money.
</p>
<p>（３）　え？<span title="なん - what" class="popup">何</span>だ<em>って</em>？
<br />- Huh? What did you say?
</p>
<p>（４）　<span title="いま - now" class="popup">今</span>、<span title="じかん - time" class="popup">時間</span>が<span title="ある - to exist (inanimate)" class="popup">ない</span><em>って</em><span title="きく - to ask, to hear" class="popup">聞いた</span>んだけど、<span title="ほんとう - really" class="popup">本当</span>？
<br />- I heard you don't have time now, is that true?
</p>
<p>（５）　<span title="いま - now" class="popup">今</span>、<span title="じかん - time" class="popup">時間</span>が<span title="ある - to exist (inanimate)" class="popup">ない</span><em>って</em>、<span title="ほんとう - really" class="popup">本当</span>？
<br />- You don't have time now (I heard), is that true?
</p>
<p>「って」 can also be used to talk about practically anything, not just to quote something that was said. You can hear 「って」 being used just about everywhere in casual
speech. Most of the time it is used in place of the 「は」 particle to simply bring up a topic.
</p>

<h3>Examples</h3>
<p>（１）　<span title="あした - tomorrow" class="popup">明日</span><em>って</em>、<span title="あめ - rain" class="popup">雨</span>が<span title="ふる - to precipitate" class="popup">降るん</span>だ<em>って</em>。
<br />- About tomorrow, I hear that it's going to rain.
</p>
<p>（２）　アリス<em>って</em>、<span title="すごい - to a great extent" class="popup">すごく</span><span title="いい - good" class="popup">いい</span><span title="ひと - person" class="popup">人</span>でしょ？
<br />- About Alice, she's a very good person, right?
</p>

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<p class="copyright">Copyright &copy; 2003-2007 Tae Kim (taekim.japanese AT gmail.com)</p>
<p>
<a href="http://www.guidetojapanese.org/forum/viewforum.php?id=18">Report a correction or suggestion for this page</a>
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<div class="small" style="text-align:right;"><pre>This page has last been revised on 2006/9/10
</pre></div>

<br class="break"/>
<h1>What's the meaning of "meaning"?</h1>

<br /><br /><br />

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
<tr><td>
<div class="outline">
<!-- outline menu -->
<center><span class="summary">Outline</span></center>
<ol>
<li><a href="#part1.define.html">The various uses of 「<span title="いう - to say" class="popup">いう</span>」</a></li>
<li><a href="#part2.define.html">Using 「<span title="いう - to say" class="popup">いう</span>」 to define</a></li>
<li><a href="#part3.define.html">Using 「<span title="いう - to say" class="popup">いう</span>」 to describe anything</a></li>
<li><a href="#part4.define.html">Rephrasing and making conclusions with 「と<span title="いう - to say" class="popup">いう</span>」</a></li>
<li><a href="#part5.define.html">Using 「って」 or 「て」 for 「と<span title="いう - to say" class="popup">いう</span>」</a></li>
<li><a href="#part6.define.html">Saying 「<span title="ゆう - to say" class="popup">ゆう</span>」 instead of 「<span title="いう - to say" class="popup">いう</span>」</a></li>
</ol>
</div>
</td></tr>
</table>
<h2 id="part1.define.html">The various uses of 「<span title="いう - to say" class="popup">いう</span>」</h2>
In the previous lesson, we learned how to quote a subordinate clause by encasing it with 「と」. This allowed us to talk about things that people have said, heard, thought, and more. We also took a look at some examples sentences that used 「と」 and 「<span title="いう - to say" class="popup">言う</span>」 to describe how to say something in Japanese and even what to call oneself. In this section, we will learn that with 「と」, we can use
「<span title="いう - to say" class="popup">いう</span>」 in a similar fashion to define, describe, and generally just talk about the thing itself. We'll also see how to do the same thing with the casual 「って」 version we first learned about in the last lesson.

<h2 id="part2.define.html">Using 「<span title="いう - to say" class="popup">いう</span>」 to define</h2>
In the last lesson, we briefly looked at how to introduce ourselves by using 「と」 and 「<span title="いう - to say" class="popup">いう</span>」. For instance, we had the following example, which Alice used to introduce herself.

<p>
（１）　<span title="わたし - me, myself, I" class="popup">私</span>はアリス<em>と<span title="いう - to say" class="popup">いいます</span></em>。<br />- I am called Alice. (lit: As for me, you say Alice.)
</p>

<p>
This sentence pattern is probably one of the first things beginner Japanese students learn in the classroom. In this case, the verb 「<span title="いう - to say" class="popup">いう</span>」 doesn't mean that somebody actually said something. Rather, Alice is saying that people in general say "Alice" when referring to her. While using kanji for 「<span title="いう - to say" class="popup">いう</span>」 is perfectly acceptable, in this case, since nothing is actually being said, using hiragana is also common.
</p>

<p>
This idea of describing what a person is known or referred to as can also be extended to objects and places. We can essentially define and identify anything we want by using 「という」 in this manner. As you can imagine, this is particularly useful for us because it allows us to ask what things are called in Japanese and for the definition of words we don't know yet.
</p>

<h3>Examples</h3>
<p>
（１）　<span title="これ - this" class="popup">これ</span>は、<em><span title="なん - what" class="popup">なん</span>と<span title="いう - to say" class="popup">いう</span><span title="さかな - fish" class="popup">魚</span></em>ですか。
<br />- What is this fish referred to as?.
</p>

<p>
（２）　<span title="この - this" class="popup">この</span><span title="さかな - fish" class="popup">魚</span>は、<em><span title="たい - Tai (fish)" class="popup">鯛</span>と<span title="いう - to say" class="popup">いいます</span></em>。
<br />- This fish is known as "<i>Tai</i>".
</p>

<p>
（３）　<em>ルミネと<span title="いう - to say" class="popup">いう</span><span title="デパート - department store" class="popup">デパート</span></em>は<span title="どこ - where" class="popup">どこ</span>に<span title="ある - to exist (inanimate)" class="popup">ある</span>か、<span title="しる - to know" class="popup">知って</span><span title="いる - to exist (animate)" class="popup">います</span>か？
<br />- Do you know where the department store called "Lumine" is?
</p>

<p>
（４）　「<span title="ともだち - friend" class="popup">友達</span>」は、<span title="えいご - English" class="popup">英語</span>で<em>「friend」と<span title="いう - to say" class="popup">いう</span></em><span title="いみ - meaning" class="popup">意味</span>です。
<br />- The meaning of "<i>tomodachi</i>" in English is "friend".
</p>

<h2 id="part3.define.html">Using 「<span title="いう - to say" class="popup">いう</span>」 to describe anything</h2>
We learned how to use 「と<span title="いう - to say" class="popup">いう</span>」 to describe what something is known or referred to as. However, we can take this idea even further by attaching two subordinate clauses. At this point, 「<span title="いう - to say" class="popup">いう</span>」 is so abstract that it doesn't even really have a meaning. When a subordinate clause is encapsulated with 「と」, you must have a verb to go along with it and 「<span title="いう - to say" class="popup">いう</span>」 is simply being used as a generic verb to enable us to talk about any subordinate clause. This allows us to describe and explain just about anything ranging from a single word to complete sentences. As you can imagine, this construction is quite useful and employed quite often in Japanese.

<h3>Examples</h3>
<p>
（１）　<span title="しゅじんこう - main character" class="popup">主人公</span>が<span title="はんにん - criminal" class="popup">犯人</span>だった<em>と<span title="いう - to say" class="popup">いう</span></em>のが<span title="いちばん - best; first" class="popup">一番</span><span title="おもしろい - interesting" class="popup">面白かった</span>。
<br />- The most interesting thing was that the main character was the criminal.
</p>

<p>
（２）　<span title="にほんじん - Japanese person" class="popup">日本人</span>は<span title="おさけ - alcohol" class="popup">お酒</span>に<span title="よわい - weak" class="popup">弱い</span><em>と<span title="いう - to say" class="popup">いう</span></em>のは<span title="ほんとう - really" class="popup">本当</span>？
<br />- Is it true that Japanese people are weak to alcohol?
</p>

<p>
（３）　<span title="どくしん - single, unmarried" class="popup">独身</span>だ<em>と<span title="いう - to say" class="popup">いう</span></em>のは、<span title="うそ - lie" class="popup">嘘</span>だったの？
<br />- It was a lie that you were single?
</p>

<p>
（４）　<span title="リブート - reboot" class="popup">リブート</span><em>と<span title="いう - to say" class="popup">いう</span></em>のは、<span title="パソコン - computer" class="popup">パソコン</span>を<span title="さいきどう - reboot" class="popup">再起動</span><span title="する - to do" class="popup">する</span><em>と<span title="いう - to say" class="popup">いう</span></em><span title="こと - event, matter" class="popup">こと</span>です。
<br />- Reboot means to restart your computer.
</p>

<p>
We can abstract it even further by replacing the subordinate clause with a generic way of doing something. In this case, we use 「<span title="こう - like this" class="popup">こう</span>」、「<span title="そう - like that" class="popup">そう</span>」、「<span title="ああ - like that" class="popup">ああ</span>」、and 「<span title="どう - how" class="popup">どう</span>」, which when combined with 「<span title="いう - to say" class="popup">いう</span>」 means "this way, "that way", "that way (far away in an abstract sense)" and "what way" respectively.
</p>

<h3>Examples</h3>
<p>
（１）　<span title="あんた - you" class="popup">あんた</span>は、<span title="いつも - always" class="popup">いつも</span><em><span title="こう - like this" class="popup">こう</span><span title="いう - to say" class="popup">いう</span></em><span title="とき - time" class="popup">時</span>に<span title="くる - to come" class="popup">来る</span>んだから、<span title="こまる - to be bothered, troubled" class="popup">困る</span>んだよ。
<br />- It's because you always come at times like these that I'm troubled.
</p>

<p>
（２）　<em><span title="そう - like that" class="popup">そう</span><span title="いう - to say" class="popup">いう</span></em><span title="ひと - person" class="popup">人</span>と<span title="いっしょ - together" class="popup">一緒</span>に<span title="しごと - work" class="popup">仕事</span>を<span title="する - to do" class="popup">する</span>のは、<span title="いや - dislike" class="popup">嫌</span>だよね。
<br />- [Anybody would] dislike doing work together with that type of person, huh?
</p>

<p>
（３）　<em><span title="ああ - like that" class="popup">ああ</span><span title="いう - to say" class="popup">いう</span></em><span title="ひと - person" class="popup">人</span>と<span title="けっこん - marriage" class="popup">結婚</span><span title="できる - to be able to do" class="popup">できた</span>ら、<span title="しあわせ - happiness" class="popup">幸せ</span>に<span title="なる - to become" class="popup">なれる</span>と<span title="おもう - to think" class="popup">思います</span>。
<br />- I think you can become happy if you could marry that type of person.
</p>

<p>
（４）　<span title="だいがく - college" class="popup">大学</span>に<span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行かない</span>って、<em><span title="どう - how" class="popup">どう</span><span title="いう - to say" class="popup">いう</span></em><span title="いみ - meaning" class="popup">意味</span>なの？
<br />- What do you mean, "You're not going to go to college?"
</p>

<h2 id="part4.define.html">Rephrasing and making conclusions with 「と<span title="いう - to say" class="popup">いう</span>」</h2>
We can attach the question marker 「か」 to 「と<span title="いう - to say" class="popup">いう</span>」 in order to add a questioning element. This construction is used when you want to rephrase or redefine something such as the following dialogue.

<h3>Example Dialogue</h3>
<p>
（Ａ）　みきちゃんは、<span title="あんた - you" class="popup">あんた</span>の<span title="かのじょ - she; girlfriend" class="popup">彼女</span>でしょう？
<br />- Miki-chan is your girlfriend, right?
</p>
<p>
（Ｂ）　う～ん、<span title="かのじょ - she; girlfriend" class="popup">彼女</span><em>と<span title="いう - to say" class="popup">いう</span>か</em>、<span title="ともだち - friend" class="popup">友達</span><em>と<span title="いう - to say" class="popup">いう</span>か</em>、<span title="なん - what" class="popup">なん</span><em>と<span title="いう - to say" class="popup">いう</span>か</em>・・・
<br />- Um, you might say girlfriend, or friend, or something…
</p>

This construction is used all the time, particularly in casual conversations. It can be used to correct something, come to a different conclusion, or even as an interjection.

<h3>Examples</h3>
<p>
（１）　<span title="おさけ - alcohol" class="popup">お酒</span>は<span title="すき - like, desirable" class="popup">好き</span><em>と<span title="いう - to say" class="popup">いう</span>か</em>、<span title="ある - to exist (inanimate)" class="popup">ない</span>と<span title="いきる - to live" class="popup">生きて</span><span title="いく - to go" class="popup">いけない</span>。
<br />- I like alcohol or rather, can't live on without it.
</p>

<p>
（２）　<span title="たぶん - maybe" class="popup">多分</span><span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行かない</span>と<span title="おもう - to think" class="popup">思う</span>。<em>と<span title="いう - to say" class="popup">いう</span>か</em>、<span title="おかね - money" class="popup">お金</span>が<span title="ある - to exist (inanimate)" class="popup">ない</span>から、<span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行けない</span>。
<br />- Don't think I'll go. Or rather, can't because there's no money.
</p>

<p>
（３）　<em>と<span title="いう - to say" class="popup">いう</span>か</em>、<span title="もう - already" class="popup">もう</span><span title="かえる - to go home" class="popup">帰らない</span>と<span title="だめ - no good" class="popup">だめ</span>ですけど。
<br />- Rather than that, I have to go home already.
</p>

Rather than using 「か」 to rephrase a conclusion, we can also simply use 「<span title="こと - event, matter" class="popup">こと</span>」 to sum up something without rephrasing anything.

<h3>Example Dialogue</h3>
<p>
（Ａ）　みきちゃんが<span title="ようすけ - Yousuke" class="popup">洋介</span>と<span title="わかれる - to separate" class="popup">別れた</span>んだって。
<br />- I heard that Miki-chan broke up with Yousuke.
</p>
<p>
（Ｂ）　<em>と<span title="いう - to say" class="popup">いう</span><span title="こと - event, matter" class="popup">こと</span></em>は、みきちゃんは、<span title="いま - now" class="popup">今</span><span title="かれし - he; boyfriend" class="popup">彼氏</span>が<span title="いる - to exist (animate)" class="popup">いない</span><em>と<span title="いう - to say" class="popup">いう</span><span title="こと - event, matter" class="popup">こと</span></em>？
<br />- Does that mean Miki-chan doesn't have a boyfriend now?
</p>
<p>
（Ａ）　<span title="そう - that's so" class="popup">そう</span>。<em><span title="そう - that way" class="popup">そう</span><span title="いう - to say" class="popup">いう</span><span title="こと - event, matter" class="popup">こと</span></em>。
<br />- That's right. That's what it means.
</p>

<h2 id="part5.define.html">Using 「って」 or 「て」 for 「と<span title="いう - to say" class="popup">いう</span>」</h2>
As mentioned in the previous lesson, 「って」 is very often used in causal slang in place of 「と」, because it allows us to leave out the rest of the sentence and assume context (or just plain assumption) will take care of the rest. We already saw that we can use  「って」 to replace 「と<span title="いう - to say" class="popup">いう</span>」 as well. However, since we just learned how to use 「と<span title="いう - to say" class="popup">いう</span>」 to do much more than just simply say something, there is a limit to just how much you can leave out. In any case, 「って」 will allow us to leave out not only 「<span title="いう - to say" class="popup">いう</span>」 but also any accompanying particles as you can see in the following example.

<h3>Examples</h3>
<p>
（１）　<span title="らいねん - next year" class="popup">来年</span><span title="りゅうがく - study abroad" class="popup">留学</span><span title="する - to do" class="popup">する</span><em>と<span title="いう - to say" class="popup">いう</span>のは</em>、<span title="ともこ - Tomoko" class="popup">智子</span>の<span title="こと - event, matter" class="popup">こと</span>？
<br />- The studying abroad next year thing, is that Tomoko?
</p>
<p>
（２）　<span title="らいねん - next year" class="popup">来年</span><span title="りゅうがく - study abroad" class="popup">留学</span><span title="する - to do" class="popup">する</span><em>って</em><span title="ともこ - Tomoko" class="popup">智子</span>の<span title="こと - event, matter" class="popup">こと</span>？
<br />- The studying abroad next year thing, is that Tomoko?
</p>

<p>「だって」 is also another phrase that leaves out just about everything. By convention, it is used to express disagreement or dissatisfaction usually to whine, complain, or to make an excuse but you can't tell what it means just from looking at it. It is an abbreviation of something along the lines of 「とは<span title="いう - to say" class="popup">いって</span>も」 meaning, "even if that was the case".</p>

<h3>Example Dialogue 1</h3>
<p>
（A）　<span title="する - to do" class="popup">しない</span>と<span title="だめ - no good" class="popup">だめ</span>だよ。
<br />- Have to do it, you know.
</p>
<p>
（B）　<em>だって</em>、<span title="じかん - time" class="popup">時間</span>が<span title="ある - to exist (inanimate)" class="popup">ない</span>から<span title="できる - to be able to do" class="popup">できない</span>よ。
<br />- But (even so), can't do it because there is no time.
</p>

<h3>Example Dialogue 2</h3>
<p>
（A）　<span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行かなくて</span>も<span title="いい - good" class="popup">いい</span>よ。
<br />- Don't have to go, you know.
</p>
<p>
（B）　<em>だって</em>、<span title="みんな - everybody" class="popup">みんな</span><span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行く</span>って。<span title="わたし - me, myself, I" class="popup">私</span>も<span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行かない</span>と。
<br />- But (even so), everybody said they're going. I have to go too.
</p>

<p>
In some cases, the small 「つ」 is left out and just 「て」 is used instead of 「って」. This is done (as is usually the case for slang) in order to make things easier to say. In general, this is when there is nothing before the 「て」 or when the sound that comes before it doesn't require the explicit separation the 「っ」 gives us in order to be understood.
</p>

<h3>Examples</h3>

<p>
（１）　<em>て</em><span title="こと - event, matter" class="popup">こと</span>は、みきちゃんは、<span title="いま - now" class="popup">今</span><span title="かれし - he; boyfriend" class="popup">彼氏</span>が<span title="いる - to exist (animate)" class="popup">いない</span><em>て</em><span title="こと - event, matter" class="popup">こと</span>？
<br />- Does that mean Miki-chan doesn't have a boyfriend now?
</p>

<p>
（２）　<em>て</em><span title="いう - to say" class="popup">いう</span>か、<span title="もう - already" class="popup">もう</span><span title="かえる - to go home" class="popup">帰らない</span>と<span title="だめ - no good" class="popup">だめ</span>ですけど。
<br />- Rather than that, I have to go home already.
</p>

<p>
Since slang tends to be used in whichever way the person feels like, there are no definite rules defining whether you should use 「って」 or 「て」. However, 「て」 is generally not used to express what people have actually said or heard, which is why it wasn't covered in the last lesson.
</p>
<p>
（誤）　みきちゃんが、<span title="あした - tomorrow" class="popup">明日</span><span title="くる - to come" class="popup">こない</span><em><strike>て</strike></em>。
<br />- (Can't use 「て」 for something actually said)
</p>
<p>
（正）　みきちゃんが、<span title="あした - tomorrow" class="popup">明日</span><span title="くる - to come" class="popup">こない</span><em>って</em>。
<br />- Miki-chan says she isn't coming tomorrow.
</p>

<h2 id="part6.define.html">Saying 「<span title="ゆう - to say" class="popup">ゆう</span>」 instead of 「<span title="いう - to say" class="popup">いう</span>」</h2>
Because the 「と<span title="いう - to say" class="popup">いう</span>」construction is used so often, there are a lot of different variations and slang based on it. While I do not plan on covering all of them here, you can check out <a href="casual.html#part5.define.html">Casual Patterns and Slang</a> in the miscellaneous section for yet even more slang derived from 「と<span title="いう - to say" class="popup">いう</span>」.

<p>The last thing I'm am going to briefly mention here is the use of 「<span title="ゆう - to say" class="popup">ゆう</span>」 instead of 「<span title="いう - to say" class="popup">いう</span>」. In conversations, it is quite normal to say 「<span title="ゆう - to say" class="popup">ゆう</span>」 instead of 「<span title="いう - to say" class="popup">いう</span>」. 「<span title="ゆう - to say" class="popup">ゆう</span>」 is easier to say because it is simply one letter with a long vowel sound instead of the two different vowel sounds of 「<span title="いう - to say" class="popup">いう</span>」.　</p>

<h3>Examples</h3>
<p>
（１）　て<em><span title="ゆう - to say" class="popup">ゆう</span></em>か、<span title="もう - already" class="popup">もう</span><span title="かえる - to go home" class="popup">帰らない</span>と<span title="だめ - no good" class="popup">だめ</span>ですけど。
<br />- Rather than that, I have to go home already.
</p>
<p>
（２）　<span title="そう - like that" class="popup">そう</span><em><span title="ゆう - to say" class="popup">ゆう</span></em><span title="こと - event, matter" class="popup">こと</span>じゃないって！
<br />- I said it's not like that (lit: it's not that type of thing)!
</p>


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<div class="small" style="text-align:right;"><pre>This page has last been revised on 2006/9/19</pre></div>

<br class="break"/>
<h1>Trying things in Japanese</h1>

<br /><br />

<p align="right"><i>Do or do not.  There is no try.</i>
<br />-Yoda</p>

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
<tr><td>
<div class="outline">
<!-- outline menu -->
<center><span class="summary">Outline</span></center>
<ol>
<li><a href="#part1.try.html">Let's try some stuff</a></li>
<li><a href="#part2.try.html">To try something out</a></li>
<li><a href="#part3.try.html">To attempt to do something</a></li>
</ol>
</div>
</td></tr>
</table>

<h2  id="part1.try.html">Let's try some stuff</h2>
In English, we use the word, "try" to mean both "to try something out" and "to make an effort to do something".  In Japanese, these are
separate grammatical expressions.  For instance, "I tried the cherry flavor" and "I tried to do homework" mean quite different things and though
English does not make a distinction, Japanese does.

<h2 id="part2.try.html">To try something out</h2>
To try something out, you simply need to change the verb to the te-form and add 「<span title="みる - to see" class="popup">みる</span>」.  If it helps you to remember, you can think of it as a
sequence of an action and then seeing the result.  In fact 「<span title="みる - to see" class="popup">みる</span>」 conjugates just like 「<span title="みる - to see" class="popup">見る</span>」.
However, just like the <a href="desire.html#part3.try.html">「～て<span title="ほしい - wanted, desirable" class="popup">ほしい</span>」</a> grammar we learned, this is a set phrase and 「<span title="みる - to see" class="popup">みる</span>」 is usually
written in hiragana.


<div class="sumbox">
<span class="summary">Summary</span>
<ul class="plain">
<li>To say you tried something out, take the action, conjugate it to the <a href="compound.html#part3.try.html"><i>te-form</i></a> and add 「<span title="みる - to see" class="popup">みる</span>」.</li>
<li>例）　<span title="きる - to cut" class="popup">切る</span> → <span title="きる - to cut" class="popup">切<em>って</em></span> → <span title="きる - to cut" class="popup">切って</span><em><span title="みる - to see" class="popup">みる</span></em></li>
<li>You can treat the whole result as a regular verb just as you would with 「<span title="みる - to see" class="popup">見る</span>」.</li>
<li>例）　<span title="きる - to cut" class="popup">切って</span><em><span title="みる - to see" class="popup">みる</span></em>、<span title="きる - to cut" class="popup">切って</span><em><span title="みる - to see" class="popup">みた</span></em>、<span title="きる - to cut" class="popup">切って</span><em><span title="みる - to see" class="popup">みない</span></em>、<span title="きる - to cut" class="popup">切って</span><em><span title="みる - to see" class="popup">みなかった</span></em></li>
</ul>
</div>

<h3>Examples</h3>
（１）　<span title="おこのみやき - pizza-like pancake fried with various ingredients" class="popup">お好み焼き</span>を<span title="はじめて - for the first time" class="popup">始めて</span><em><span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べて</span><span title="みる - to see" class="popup">みた</span></em>けど、<span title="とても - very" class="popup">とても</span><span title="おいしい - tasty" class="popup">おいしかった</span>！- I tried eating okonomiyaki for the first time and it was very tasty!
<br />（２）　<span title="おさけ - alcohol" class="popup">お酒</span>を<em><span title="のむ - to drink" class="popup">飲んで</span><span title="みる - to see" class="popup">みました</span></em>が、<span title="すごい - amazing, to a great extent" class="popup">すごく</span><span title="ねむい - sleepy" class="popup">眠く</span><span title="なる - to become" class="popup">なりました</span>。- I tried drinking alcohol and I became extremely sleepy.
<br />（３）　<span title="あたらしい - new" class="popup">新しい</span><span title="デパート - department store" class="popup">デパート</span>に<em><span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行って</span><span title="みる - to see" class="popup">みる</span></em>。- I'm going to check out the new department store.
<br />（４）　<span title="ひろしま - Hiroshima" class="popup">広島</span>の<span title="おこのみやき - pizza-like pancake fried with various ingredients" class="popup">お好み焼き</span>を<em><span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べて</span><span title="みる - to see" class="popup">みたい</span></em>！- I want to try eating Hiroshima okonomiyaki!

<h2 id="part3.try.html">To attempt to do something</h2>
We already learned that the <a href="desire.html#part4.try.html">volitional form</a> was used to indicate a will to set out to do something.  If you
guessed that this next grammar for attempting to do something would involve the volitional form, you were right.  To say that you tried (as in attempted)
to do something, you need to conjugate the verb into the volitional, enclose it in a quotation (so that we can perform an action on the clause) and
finally add the verb 「<span title="する - to do" class="popup">する</span>」.  Or put more simply, you just add 「と<span title="する - to do" class="popup">する</span>」 to the volitional form of the verb.  This is simply an extension of the
quoted subordinate clause from the last section.  Instead of saying the quote （<span title="いう - to say" class="popup">言う</span>） or treating it as a thought （<span title="おもう - to think" class="popup">思う</span>、<span title="かんがえる - to consider" class="popup">考える</span>）,
we are simply doing it with 「<span title="する - to do" class="popup">する</span>」.

<div class="sumbox">
<span class="summary">Summary</span>
<ul class="plain">
<li>To say that you are attempting a certain action, convert the action to the <a href="desire.html#part4.try.html"><i>volitional form</i></a> and add 「と<span title="する - to do" class="popup">する</span>」.
</li>
<li>例）　<span title="みる - to see" class="popup">見る</span> → <span title="みる - to see" class="popup">見<em>よう</em></span> → <span title="みる - to see" class="popup">見よう</span><em>と<span title="する - to do" class="popup">する</span></em></li>
<li>例）　<span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行く</span> → <span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行<em>こう</em></span> → <span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行こう</span><em>と<span title="する - to do" class="popup">する</span></em></li>
</ul>
</div>

<h3>Examples</h3>
<p>
（１）　<span title="まいにち - every day" class="popup">毎日</span>、<span title="べんきょう - study" class="popup">勉強</span>を<em><span title="さける - to avoid" class="popup">避けよう</span>と<span title="する - to do" class="popup">する</span></em>。
<br />- Everyday, she attempts to avoid study.
</p>
<p>
（２）　<span title="むりやり - forcibly, against one's will" class="popup">無理矢理</span>に<span title="へや - room" class="popup">部屋</span>に<em><span title="はいる - to enter" class="popup">入ろう</span>と<span title="する - to do" class="popup">している</span></em>。
<br />- He is attempting to force his way into the room.
</p>
<p>
（３）　<span title="はやい - fast, early" class="popup">早く</span><em><span title="ねる - to sleep" class="popup">寝よう</span>と<span title="する - to do" class="popup">した</span></em>けど、<span title="けっきょく - in the end" class="popup">結局</span>は<span title="てつや - staying up all night" class="popup">徹夜</span><span title="する - to do" class="popup">した</span>。
<br />- I attempted to sleep early but ended up staying up all night.
</p>
<p>
（４）　<span title="おさけ - alcohol" class="popup">お酒</span>を<em><span title="のむ - to drink" class="popup">飲もう</span>と<span title="する - to do" class="popup">した</span></em>が、<span title="おくさん - wife" class="popup">奥さん</span>が<span title="とめる - to stop" class="popup">止めた</span>。
<br />- He tried to drink alcohol but his wife stopped him.
</p>

<p>Though we use the verb 「<span title="する - to do" class="popup">する</span>」 to say, "to do attempt", we can use different verbs to do other things with the
attempt. For instance, we can use the verb 「<span title="きめる - to decide" class="popup">決める</span>」 to say, "decide to attempt to do [X]". Here
are some examples of other actions carried out on the attempt.
</p>

<p>
（１）　<span title="べんきょう - study" class="popup">勉強</span>を<span title="なるべく - as much as possible" class="popup">なるべく</span><span title="さける - to avoid" class="popup">避けよう</span>と<em><span title="おもう - to think" class="popup">思った</span></em>。
<br />- I thought I would attempt to avoid studying as much as possible.
</p>
<p>
（２）　<span title="まいにち - every day" class="popup">毎日</span><span title="ジム - gym" class="popup">ジム</span>に<span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行こう</span>と<em><span title="きめる - to decide" class="popup">決めた</span></em>。
<br />- Decided to attempt to go to gym everyday.
</p>


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<p>
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<div class="small" style="text-align:right;"><pre>This page has last been revised on 2005/3/26</pre></div>

<br class="break"/>
<h1>Giving and receiving in Japanese</h1>

<br /><br /><br />

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
<tr><td>
<div class="outline">
<!-- outline menu -->
<center><span class="summary">Outline</span></center>
<ol>
<li><a href="#part1.favor.html">Japanese people like gifts</a></li>
<li><a href="#part2.favor.html">When to use 「<span title="あげる - to give, to raise" class="popup">あげる</span>」</a></li>
<li><a href="#part3.favor.html">Using 「<span title="あげる - to give, to raise" class="popup">あげる</span>」and 「<span title="くれる - to give" class="popup">くれる</span>」 for the third person</a></li>
<li><a href="#part4.favor.html">When to use 「<span title="もらう - to receive" class="popup">もらう</span>」</a></li>
<li><a href="#part5.favor.html">Asking favors with 「<span title="くれる - to give" class="popup">くれる</span>」 or 「<span title="もらう - to receive" class="popup">もらえる</span>」</a></li>
</ol>
</div>
</td></tr>
</table>

<h2 id="part1.favor.html">Japanese people like gifts</h2>
One thing about Japanese culture is that they're big on giving gifts.  There are many different customs involving giving and receiving
gifts (<span title="おせいぼ - year-end presents" class="popup">お歳暮</span>、<span title="おちゅうげん - Bon Festival gifts" class="popup">お中元</span>、etc.) and when Japanese people go traveling, you can be sure that they're going to be picking up souvenirs to take back
as gifts.  Even when attending marriages or funerals, people are expected to give a certain amount of money as a gift to help fund the ceremony.
You can see why properly learning how to express the giving and receiving of favors and items is a very important and useful skill.
For some reason, the proper use of 「<span title="あげる - to give, to raise" class="popup">あげる</span>」、「<span title="くれる - to give" class="popup">くれる</span>」、and 「<span title="もらう - to receive" class="popup">もらう</span>」 has always haunted people studying Japanese as being horribly complex and intractable.
I hope to prove in this section that it is conceptually quite straightforward and simple.

<h2 id="part2.favor.html">When to use 「<span title="あげる - to give, to raise" class="popup">あげる</span>」</h2>
「<span title="あげる - to give, to raise" class="popup">あげる</span>」 is the Japanese word for "to give" seen from the speaker's point of view.  You must use this verb when you are giving something
or doing something for someone else.

<h3>Examples</h3>
<p>
（１）　<span title="わたし - me, myself, I" class="popup">私</span>が<span title="ともだち - friend" class="popup">友達</span>に<span title="プレゼント - present" class="popup">プレゼント</span>を<em><span title="あげる - to give, to raise" class="popup">あげた</span></em>。
<br />- I gave present to friend.
</p>
<p>
（２）　<span title="これ - this" class="popup">これ</span>は<span title="せんせい - teacher" class="popup">先生</span>に<em><span title="あげる - to give, to raise" class="popup">あげる</span></em>。
<br />- I'll give this to teacher.
</p>

<p>In order to express the giving of a favor (verb) you must use the ever useful te-form and then attach 「<span title="あげる - to give, to raise" class="popup">あげる</span>」.
This applies to all the other sections in this lesson as well.
</p>

<p>
（１）　<span title="くるま - car" class="popup">車</span>を<em><span title="かう - buy" class="popup">買って</span><span title="あげる - to give, to raise" class="popup">あげる</span></em>よ。
<br />- I'll give you the favor of buying a car.
</p>
<p>
（２）　<span title="かわり - substitute" class="popup">代わり</span>に<em><span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行って</span><span title="あげる - to give, to raise" class="popup">あげる</span></em>。
<br />- I'll give you the favor of going in your place.
</p>

<p>For third-person, this verb is used when the speaker
is looking at it from the giver's point of view.  We'll see the significance of this when we examine the verb 「<span title="くれる - to give" class="popup">くれる</span>」 next.
</p>

<p>
（１）　<span title="がくせい - student" class="popup">学生</span>が<span title="これ - this" class="popup">これ</span>を<span title="せんせい - teacher" class="popup">先生</span>に<em><span title="あげる - to give, to raise" class="popup">あげる</span></em>。
<br />- The student give this to teacher. (looking at it from the student's point of view)
</p>
<p>
（２）　<span title="ともだち - friend" class="popup">友達</span>が<span title="ちち - father" class="popup">父</span>に<span title="いい - good" class="popup">いい</span><span title="こと - event, matter" class="popup">こと</span>を<em><span title="おしえる - to teach, to inform" class="popup">教えて</span><span title="あげる - to give, to raise" class="popup">あげた</span></em>。
<br />- Friend gave the favor of teaching something good to my dad. (looking at it from the friend's point of view)
</p>

<h3>Using 「<span title="やる - to do" class="popup">やる</span>」 to mean 「<span title="あげる - to give, to raise" class="popup">あげる</span>」</h3>
Usually used for pets, animals, and such, you can substitute 「<span title="やる - to do" class="popup">やる</span>」, which normally means "to do", for 「<span title="あげる - to give, to raise" class="popup">あげる</span>」.
You would normally never use this type of 「やる」 for people.  I only included this so that you won't be confused by sentences like the following.

<p>（１）　<span title="いぬ - dog" class="popup">犬</span>に<span title="えさ - food for animals" class="popup">餌</span>を<em><span title="やる - to do" class="popup">やった</span></em>？ - Did you give the dog food?
<br />Here, 「<span title="やる - to do" class="popup">やる</span>」 does not mean "to do" but "to give".  You can tell because "doing food to dog" doesn't make any sense.
</p>

<h2 id="part3.favor.html">When to use 「<span title="くれる - to give" class="popup">くれる</span>」</h2>
「<span title="くれる - to give" class="popup">くれる</span>」 is also a verb meaning "to give" but unlike 「<span title="あげる - to give, to raise" class="popup">あげる</span>」, it is from the receiver's point of view.  You must use this verb when
someone <i>else</i> is giving something or doing something for you (effectively the opposite of 「<span title="あげる - to give, to raise" class="popup">あげる</span>」).

<h3>Examples</h3>
<p>
（１）　<span title="ともだち - friend" class="popup">友達</span>が<span title="わたし - me, myself, I" class="popup">私</span>に<span title="プレゼント - present" class="popup">プレゼント</span>を<em><span title="くれる - to give" class="popup">くれた</span></em>。
<br />- Friend gave present to me.
</p>
<p>
（２）　<span title="これ - this" class="popup">これ</span>は、<span title="せんせい - teacher" class="popup">先生</span>が<em><span title="くれる - to give" class="popup">くれた</span></em>。
<br />- Teacher gave this to me.
</p>
<p>
（３）　<span title="くるま - car" class="popup">車</span>を<em><span title="かう - buy" class="popup">買って</span><span title="くれる - to give" class="popup">くれる</span></em>の？
<br />- You'll give me the favor of buying a car for me?
</p>
<p>
（４）　<span title="かわり - substitute" class="popup">代わり</span>に<em><span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行って</span><span title="くれる - to give" class="popup">くれる</span></em>？
<br />- Will you give me the favor of going in my place?
</p>

<p>Similarly, when used in the third-person, the speaker is speaking from the receiver's point of view and not the giver.
</p>
<p>
（１）　<span title="せんせい - teacher" class="popup">先生</span>が<span title="これ - this" class="popup">これ</span>を<span title="がくせい - student" class="popup">学生</span>に<em><span title="くれる - to give" class="popup">くれる</span></em>。
<br />- The teacher give this to student. (looking at it from the student's point of view)
</p>
<p>
（２）　<span title="ともだち - friend" class="popup">友達</span>が<span title="ちち - father" class="popup">父</span>に<span title="いい - good" class="popup">いい</span><span title="こと - event, matter" class="popup">こと</span>を<em><span title="おしえる - to teach, to inform" class="popup">教えて</span><span title="くれる - to give" class="popup">くれた</span></em>。
<br />- Friend gave favor of teaching something good to my dad. (looking at it from the dad's point of view)
</p>

<center>The following diagram illustrates the direction of giving from the point of view of the speaker.
<br />
<img src="favordiag.gif" alt="Favor Diagram" /></center>
<p>From the speaker's point of view, all the giving done to others "go up" to everybody else while the giving done by everybody else "goes down"
to the speaker.  This is probably related
to the fact that there is an identical verb 「<span title="あげる - to raise" class="popup">上げる</span>」 meaning "to raise" that contains
the character for "above" （<span title="うえ - above" class="popup">上</span>） and that the
honorific version of 「<span title="くれる - to give" class="popup">くれる</span>」 is
「<span title="くださる - to give (hon)" class="popup">下さる</span>」  with the character for down
（<span title="した - below" class="popup">下</span>）. This restriction allows us to make certain deductions from vague sentences like the following:</p>

<p>（１）　<span title="せんせい - teacher" class="popup">先生</span>が<span title="おしえる - to teach, to inform" class="popup">教えて</span><em><span title="あげる - to give, to raise" class="popup">あげる</span></em>んですか。
<br />- Teacher, will you be the one to give favor of teaching to... [anybody other than the speaker]?
</p>
<p>
Because all giving done to the speaker must always use 「<span title="くれる - to give" class="popup">くれる</span>」, we know that the teacher must be doing it for someone else and <i>not the
speaker</i>.  The speaker is also looking at it from the teacher's point of view as doing a favor for someone else.
</p>

<p>（２）　<span title="せんせい - teacher" class="popup">先生</span>が<span title="おしえる - to teach, to inform" class="popup">教えて</span><em><span title="くれる - to give" class="popup">くれる</span></em>んですか。
<br />- Teacher, will you be the one to give favor of teaching to... [anybody including the speaker]?
</p>
<p>
Because the giver is not the speaker, the teacher is either giving to the speaker or anyone else.  The speaker is viewing it from the
receiver's point of view as receiving a favor done by the teacher.
</p>

<p>Let's see some mistakes to watch out for.
<br />（誤）　<span title="わたし - me, myself, I" class="popup">私</span>が<span title="ぜんぶ - all" class="popup">全部</span><span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べて</span><em><strike><span title="くれる - to give" class="popup">くれました</span></strike></em>。- 「<span title="くれる - to give" class="popup">くれる</span>」 is being used as giving done by the speaker. (Wrong)
<br />（正）　<span title="わたし - me, myself, I" class="popup">私</span>が<span title="ぜんぶ - all" class="popup">全部</span><span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べて</span><em><span title="あげる - to give, to raise" class="popup">あげました</span></em>。- I gave favor of eating it all. (Correct)
</p>

<p>（誤）　<span title="ともだち - friend" class="popup">友達</span>が<span title="プレゼント - present" class="popup">プレゼント</span>を<span title="わたし - me, myself, I" class="popup">私</span>に<em><strike><span title="あげる - to give, to raise" class="popup">あげた</span></strike></em>。- 「<span title="あげる - to give, to raise" class="popup">あげる</span>」 is being used as giving to the speaker. (Wrong)
<br />（正）　<span title="ともだち - friend" class="popup">友達</span>が<span title="プレゼント - present" class="popup">プレゼント</span>を<span title="わたし - me, myself, I" class="popup">私</span>に<em><span title="くれる - to give" class="popup">くれた</span></em>。- Friend gave present to me. (Correct)
</p>

<h2 id="part4.favor.html">When to use 「<span title="もらう - to receive" class="popup">もらう</span>」</h2>
「<span title="もらう - to receive" class="popup">もらう</span>」 meaning, "to receive" has only one version unlike 「<span title="あげる - to give, to raise" class="popup">あげる</span>／<span title="くれる - to give" class="popup">くれる</span>」 so there's very little to explain.  One thing to point out
is that since you receive <i>from</i> someone, 「から」 is also appropriate in addition to the 「に」 <a href="particles2.html#part3.favor.html">target particle</a>.

<h3>Examples</h3>

<p>（１）　<span title="わたし - me, myself, I" class="popup">私</span>が<span title="ともだち - friend" class="popup">友達</span><em>に</em><span title="プレゼント - present" class="popup">プレゼント</span>を<em><span title="もらう - to receive" class="popup">もらった</span></em>。
<br />- I received present from friend.
</p>

<p>
（２）　<span title="ともだち - friend" class="popup">友達</span><em>から</em><span title="プレゼント - present" class="popup">プレゼント</span>を<em><span title="もらう - to receive" class="popup">もらった</span></em>。
<br />- I received present from friend.
</p>

<p>
（３）　<span title="これ - this" class="popup">これ</span>は<span title="ともだち - friend" class="popup">友達</span>に<em><span title="かう - buy" class="popup">買って</span><span title="もらう - to receive" class="popup">もらった</span></em>。
<br />- About this, received the favor of buying it from friend.
</p>

<p>
（４）　<span title="しゅくだい - homework" class="popup">宿題</span>を<span title="チェック - check" class="popup">チェック</span><em><span title="する - to do" class="popup">して</span><span title="もらう - to receive" class="popup">もらいたかった</span></em>けど、<span title="じかん - time" class="popup">時間</span>が<span title="ある - to exist (inanimate)" class="popup">なくて</span><span title="むり - impossible" class="popup">無理</span>だった。
<br />- I wanted to receive the favor of checking homework but there was no time and it was impossible.
</p>


<p>
「もらう」 is seen from the perspective of the receiver, so in the case of first-person, others usually don't receive things from you. However, you might want to use 「<span title="わたし - me, myself, I" class="popup">私</span>から<span title="もらう - to receive" class="popup">もらう</span>」 when you want
to emphasive that fact that the other person received it from you. For instance, if you wanted to say, "Hey, I  <em>gave</em> you that!" you would use 「<span title="あげる - to give, to raise" class="popup">あげる</span>」. However, you would use 「<span title="もらう - to receive" class="popup">もらう</span>」 if you wanted to say, "Hey, you <em>got</em> that from me!"
</p>

<p>
（５）　<span title="その - that" class="popup">その</span><span title="とけい - watch" class="popup">時計</span>は<span title="わたし - me, myself, I" class="popup">私</span>から<span title="もらう - to receive" class="popup">もらった</span>のよ。
<br />- [He] received that watch from me.
</p>


<h2 id="part5.favor.html">Asking favors with 「<span title="くれる - to give" class="popup">くれる</span>」 or 「<span title="もらう - to receive" class="popup">もらえる</span>」</h2>
You can make requests by using 「<span title="くれる - to give" class="popup">くれる</span>」 and the potential form of 「<span title="もらう - to receive" class="popup">もらう</span>」 (can I receive the favor of...).  We've already seen an example of this in example （４） of the 「<span title="くれる - to give" class="popup">くれる</span>」 section.
Because requests are favors done for the speaker, you cannot use 「<span title="あげる - to give, to raise" class="popup">あげる</span>」 in this situation.

<h3>Examples</h3>
<p>
（１）　<span title="せんえん - 1000 yen" class="popup">千円</span>を<span title="かす - lend" class="popup">貸して</span><span title="くれる - to give" class="popup">くれる</span>？
<br />- Will you give me the favor of lending 1000 yen?
</p>

<p>
（２）　<span title="せんえん - 1000 yen" class="popup">千円</span>を<span title="かす - lend" class="popup">貸して</span><span title="もらう - to receive" class="popup">もらえる</span>？
<br />- Can I receive the favor of you lending 1000 yen?
</p>

<p>Notice that the two sentences essentially mean the same thing.  This is because the giver and receiver has been omitted because it is obvious
from the context.  If we were to write out the full sentence, it would look like this:
</p>

<p>
（１）　<em><span title="あなた - you" class="popup">あなた</span>が</em>、<em><span title="わたし - me, myself, I" class="popup">私</span>に</em><span title="せんえん - 1000 yen" class="popup">千円</span>を<span title="かす - lend" class="popup">貸して</span><span title="くれる - to give" class="popup">くれる</span>？
<br />- Will you give me the favor of lending 1000 yen?
</p>

<p>
（２）　<em><span title="わたし - me, myself, I" class="popup">私</span>が</em>、<em><span title="あなた - you" class="popup">あなた</span>に</em><span title="せんえん - 1000 yen" class="popup">千円</span>を<span title="かす - lend" class="popup">貸して</span><span title="もらう - to receive" class="popup">もらえる</span>？
<br />- Can I receive the favor of you lending 1000 yen?
</p>

<p>
It is not normal to explicitly include the subject and target like this when directly addressing someone but is provided here to illustrate the
change of subject and target depending on the verb 「<span title="くれる - to give" class="popup">くれる</span>」 and 「<span title="もらう - to receive" class="popup">もらえる</span>」.
</p>
<p>You can use the negative to make the request a little softer.  You'll see that this is true in many other types of
grammar.
</p>
<p>
（１）　<span title="ちょっと - little" class="popup">ちょっと</span><span title="しずか - quiet" class="popup">静か</span>に<span title="する - to do" class="popup">して</span><em><span title="くれる - to give" class="popup">くれない</span></em>？
<br />- Won't you be a little quieter?
</p>

<p>
（２）　<span title="かんじ - kanji" class="popup">漢字</span>を<span title="かく - to write" class="popup">書いて</span><em><span title="もらう - to receive" class="popup">もらえません</span></em>か。
<br />- Can you write this in kanji for me?
</p>

<h3>Asking someone to not do something</h3>

<p>In order to request that someone <i>not</i> do something, you simply attach 「で」 to the negative form of the verb and proceed as before.
</p>
<p>
（１）　<span title="ぜんぶ - all" class="popup">全部</span><span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べない</span><em>で</em><span title="くれる - to give" class="popup">くれます</span>か。
<br />- Can you not eat it all?
</p>
<p>
（２）　<span title="たかい - expensive" class="popup">高い</span><span title="もの - object" class="popup">物</span>を<span title="かう - buy" class="popup">買わない</span><em>で</em><span title="くれる - to give" class="popup">くれる</span>？
<br />- Can you not buy expensive thing(s)?
</p>

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<p class="copyright">Copyright &copy; 2003-2007 Tae Kim (taekim.japanese AT gmail.com)</p>
<p>
<a href="http://www.guidetojapanese.org/forum/viewforum.php?id=18">Report a correction or suggestion for this page</a>
</p>
</div>

<div class="small" style="text-align:right;"><pre>This page has last been revised on 2005/5/19
Fixed typo in example translation (2005/5/12)
Spread layout and improved 「もらう」 examples (2005/5/19)
</pre></div>


<br class="break"/>
<h1>Making Requests</h1>

<br /><br /><br />

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
<tr><td>
<div class="outline">
<!-- outline menu -->
<center><span class="summary">Outline</span></center>
<ol>
<li><a href="#part1.requests.html">Politely (and not so politely) making requests</a></li>
<li><a href="#part2.requests.html">「～<span title="ください - please give, please do" class="popup">ください</span>」－ a special conjugation of 「<span title="くださる - to give (hon)" class="popup">くださる</span>」</a></li>
<li><a href="#part3.requests.html">Using 「～<span title="ちょうだい - accept, receive (hon)" class="popup">ちょうだい</span>」 as a casual request</a></li>
<li><a href="#part4.requests.html">Using 「～<span title="なさる - to do (hon)" class="popup">なさい</span>」 to make firm but polite requests</a></li>
<li><a href="#part5.requests.html">The Command Form</a></li>
</ol>
</div>
</td></tr>
</table>

<h2 id="part1.requests.html">Politely (and not so politely) making requests</h2>
Similar to asking for favors, which we learned in the last lesson, there are also various ways to make requests in Japanese.  This is effectively
the Japanese way of saying, "please do X".  We'll first learn the most common way to make requests using a special conjugation of the verb 「<span title="くださる - (hon) to give" class="popup">くださる</span>」
and the firmer 「<span title="なさる - to do (hon)" class="popup">なさる</span>」.  Finally, we'll learn the rarely used excessively strong
command form for the sake of completeness.  You can safely skip the last part unless you're an avid reader of manga.

<h2 id="part2.requests.html">「～<span title="ください - please give, please do" class="popup">ください</span>」－ a special conjugation of 「<span title="くださる - (hon) to give" class="popup">くださる</span>」</h2>
「<span title="ください - please give, please do" class="popup">ください</span>」 is a special conjugation of 「<span title="くださる - (hon) to give" class="popup">くださる</span>」,
which is the honorific form of 「<span title="くれる - to give " class="popup">くれる</span>」.  We will learn more about <a href="honorhum.html">honorific and humble</a> forms
in the beginning of the next major section.  We are going over 「<span title="ください - please give, please do" class="popup">ください</span>」 here because it has a
slight difference in meaning from the normal
「<span title="くれる - to give " class="popup">くれる</span>」 and the honorific 「<span title="くださる - (hon) to give" class="popup">くださる</span>」.
 「<span title="ください - please give, please do" class="popup">ください</span>」 is different from 「<span title="くれる - to give " class="popup">くれる</span>」 in the following fashion:
<p>（１）　<span title="それ - that " class="popup">それ</span>を<em><span title="ください - please give, please do" class="popup">ください</span></em>。- Please give me that.
<br />（２）　<span title="それ - that " class="popup">それ</span>を<em><span title="くれる - to give " class="popup">くれる</span></em>？- Can you give me that?
<br />As you can see 「<span title="ください - please give, please do" class="popup">ください</span>」 is a direct request for something while 「<span title="くれる - to give " class="popup">くれる</span>」 is used as a question asking for someone to give something.  However, it
is similar to 「<span title="くれる - to give " class="popup">くれる</span>」 in that you can make a request for an action by simply attaching it to the <a href="compound.html#part3.requests.html">te-form</a> of the verb.
<br />（１）　<span title="かんじ - kanji " class="popup">漢字</span>で<em><span title="かく - to write" class="popup">書いて</span></em><span title="ください - please give, please do" class="popup">ください</span>。- Please write it in kanji.
<br />（２）　<span title="ゆっくり - slowly" class="popup">ゆっくり</span><em><span title="はなす - to speak" class="popup">話して</span></em><span title="ください - please give, please do" class="popup">ください</span>。- Please speak slowly.
</p>

<p>The rules for negative requests are same as the rules for 「<span title="くれる - to give " class="popup">くれる</span>」 as well.
<br />（１）　<span title="らくがき - scribble, graffiti" class="popup">落書き</span>を<em><span title="かく - to write" class="popup">書かない</span>で</em><span title="ください - please give, please do" class="popup">ください</span>。- Please don't write graffiti.
<br />（２）　<span title="ここ - here" class="popup">ここ</span>に<em><span title="くる - to come" class="popup">こないで</span></em><span title="ください - please give, please do" class="popup">ください</span>。- Please don't come here.
</p>

<p>In casual speech, it is often common to simply drop the 「<span title="ください - please give, please do" class="popup">ください</span>」 part.
<br /><span title="にほんご - Japanese Language" class="popup">日本語</span>で<em><span title="はなす - to speak" class="popup">話して</span></em>。- Please speak in Japanese.
<br /><span title="けしゴム - eraser" class="popup">消しゴム</span>を<em><span title="かす - lend" class="popup">貸して</span></em>。- Please lend me the eraser.
<br /><span title="とおい - far" class="popup">遠い</span><span title="ところ - place" class="popup">所</span>に<em><span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行かない</span>で</em>。- Please don't go to a far place.
</p>

<p>For those who want to sound particularly commanding and manly, it is also possible to use 「<span title="くれる - to give " class="popup">くれる</span>」 with the 「る」 removed.
<br /><span title="にほんご - Japanese Language" class="popup">日本語</span>で<em><span title="はなす - to speak" class="popup">話して</span><span title="くれる - to give " class="popup">くれ</span></em>。- Speak in Japanese.
<br /><span title="けしゴム - eraser" class="popup">消しゴム</span>を<em><span title="かす - lend" class="popup">貸して</span><span title="くれる - to give " class="popup">くれ</span></em>。- Lend me the eraser.
<br /><span title="とおい - far" class="popup">遠い</span><span title="ところ - place" class="popup">所</span>に<em><span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行かない</span>で<span title="くれる - to give " class="popup">くれ</span></em>。- Don't go to a far place.
</p>

<p>Because 「<span title="ください - please give, please do" class="popup">ください</span>」 like the masu-form must always come at the end sentence or a
subordinate clause, you cannot use it to directly modify a noun.  For example, the following is not possible with
「<span title="ください - please give, please do" class="popup">ください</span>」.
<br />（１）　<span title="おとうさん - father" class="popup">お父さん</span>が<em><span title="くれる - to give " class="popup">くれた</span></em><span title="とけい - clock" class="popup">時計</span>が<span title="こわれる - to become broken" class="popup">壊れた</span>。- The clock that father gave broke.
</p>

<p>Of course, since direct quotes is merely repeating something someone said in verbatim, you can put practically anything in a direct quote.
<br />（１）　「<span title="それ - that " class="popup">それ</span>を<span title="ください - please give, please do" class="popup">ください</span>」<em>と</em><span title="おとうさん - father" class="popup">お父さん</span>が<span title="いう - to say" class="popup">言った</span>。- Father said, "Please give me that."
</p>

<h2 id="part3.requests.html">Using 「～<span title="ちょうだい - accept, receive (hon)" class="popup">ちょうだい</span>」 as a casual request</h2>
A casual alternative of 「<span title="ください - please give, please do" class="popup">ください</span>」 used usually by females is 「<span title="ちょうだい - accept, receive (hon)" class="popup">ちょうだい</span>」.  It is always written in hiragana.  Written in kanji, it is usually
used in a very formal expression such as 「<span title="ちょうだい - accept, receive (hon)" class="popup">頂戴</span><span title="いたす - to do (hum)" class="popup">致します</span>」.  There's not much more to say here because grammatically; it works the same
way as 「<span title="ください - please give, please do" class="popup">ください</span>」.

<h3>Examples</h3>
（１）　<span title="スプーン - sppon" class="popup">スプーン</span>を<em><span title="ちょうだい - accept, receive (hon)" class="popup">ちょうだい</span></em>。- Please give me the spoon.
<br />（２）　<span title="ここ - here" class="popup">ここ</span>に<span title="なまえ - name" class="popup">名前</span>を<em><span title="かく - to write" class="popup">書いて</span><span title="ちょうだい - accept, receive (hon)" class="popup">ちょうだい</span></em>。- Please write your name here.

<h2 id="part4.requests.html">Using 「～<span title="なさる - to do (hon)" class="popup">なさい</span>」 to make firm but polite requests</h2>
「<span title="なさる - to do (hon)" class="popup">なさい</span>」 is a special honorific conjugation like 「<span title="する - to do" class="popup">する</span>」.  It is a soft yet firm way of issuing a command.  It is used, for example,
when a mother is scolding her child or when a teacher wants a delinquent student to pay attention.
Unlike 「<span title="ください - please give, please do" class="popup">ください</span>」, 「<span title="なさる - to do (hon)" class="popup">なさい</span>」
only applies to positive verbs and uses the <a href="polite.html#part2.requests.html">stem</a> of the verb instead of the te-form. It also cannot be used by itself
but must be attached to another verb.

<div class="sumbox">
<span class="summary">Using 「<span title="なさる - to do (hon)" class="popup">なさい</span>」 to make firm but polite requests</span>
<ul class="plain">
<li>Conjugate the verb to its <a href="polite.html#part2.requests.html">stem</a> and attach 「<span title="なさる - to do (hon)" class="popup">なさい</span>」</li>
<li>例）　<span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べ<em><strike>る</strike></em></span> → <span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べ</span><em><span title="なさる - to do (hon)" class="popup">なさい</span></em></li>
<li>例）　<span title="のむ - to drink" class="popup">飲<em><strike>む</strike></em></span> → <span title="のむ - to drink" class="popup">飲<em>み</em></span> → <span title="のむ - to drink" class="popup">飲み</span><em><span title="なさる - to do (hon)" class="popup">なさい</span></em></li>
<li>例）　<span title="する - to do" class="popup">する</span> → <em><span title="する - to do" class="popup">し</span></em> → <span title="する - to do" class="popup">し</span><em><span title="なさる - to do (hon)" class="popup">なさい</span></em></li>
</ul>
</div>

<h3>Examples</h3>
（１）　<span title="いい - good" class="popup">よく</span><em><span title="きく - to ask, to hear" class="popup">聞き</span></em><span title="なさる - to do (hon)" class="popup">なさい</span>！- Listen well!
<br />（２）　<span title="ここ - here" class="popup">ここ</span>に<em><span title="すわる - to sit" class="popup">座り</span></em><span title="なさる - to do (hon)" class="popup">なさい</span>。- Sit here.


<p>You can also drop 「さい」 portion of the 「<span title="なさる - to do (hon)" class="popup">なさい</span>」 to make a casual version of this grammar.
<br />（１）　<span title="まだ - yet" class="popup">まだ</span><span title="いっぱい - full, a lot" class="popup">いっぱい</span><span title="ある - to exist (inanimate)" class="popup">ある</span>から、<span title="たくさん - a lot" class="popup">たくさん</span><em><span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べな</span></em>。- There's still a lot, so eat a lot.
<br />（２）　<span title="それ - that " class="popup">それ</span>で<span title="いい - good" class="popup">いい</span>と<span title="おもう - to think" class="popup">思う</span>なら、<span title="そう - like that" class="popup">そう</span><em><span title="する - to do" class="popup">し</span>な</em>よ。 - If you think that's fine, then go ahead and do it.
</p>

<h2 id="part5.requests.html">The Command Form</h2>
We will go over the command form in the interest of covering all the possible verb conjugations.  In reality, the command form is rarely
used as Japanese people tend to be too polite to use imperatives.  Also, this course type of speech is rarely, if indeed at all,
used by females who tend to use 「<span title="なさる - to do (hon)" class="popup">なさい</span>」 or an exasperated 「<span title="くれる - to give" class="popup">くれる</span>」 when angry or irritated.
This form is only really useful for reading comic books or watching
movies.  You may often see or hear  「<span title="しぬ - die " class="popup">死ね</span>！」 ("Die!") in movies or manga which, of course, you'll never hear in real life. (I hope!)

<p>
Be sure to note that, in addition to the familiar  「<span title="する - to do" class="popup">する</span>」, 「<span title="くる - to come" class="popup">くる</span>」 exception verbs, 「<span title="くれる - to give" class="popup">くれる</span>」 is also an exception for the command form.
</p>

<div class="sumbox">
<span class="summary">Rules for creating command form</span>
<ul>
<li>ru-verbs - Replace the 「る」 with 「ろ」</li>
<li>u-verbs - Change the last character from an / u / vowel to an / e / vowel</li>
<li>Exceptions - 「<span title="する - to do" class="popup">する</span>」 becomes 「<span title="する - to do" class="popup">しろ</span>」,
「<span title="くる - to come" class="popup">くる</span>」 becomes 「<span title="くる - to come" class="popup">こい</span>」,
「<span title="くれる - to give" class="popup">くれる</span>」 becomes 「<span title="くれる - to give" class="popup">くれ</span>」</li>
</ul>
</div>

<p />
<table align="center" border="0">
<tr>
<td>
<table border="1" cellpadding="5">
<caption>Sample ru-verbs</caption>
<tr align="center"><th>Plain</th><th>Command</th></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べ<em>る</em></span></td><td><span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べ<em>ろ</em></span></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="きる - to wear" class="popup">着<em>る</em></span></td><td><span title="きる - to wear" class="popup">着<em>ろ</em></span></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="しんじる - to believe" class="popup">信じ<em>る</em></span></td><td><span title="しんじる - to believe" class="popup">信じ<em>ろ</em></span></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="ねる - to sleep" class="popup">寝<em>る</em></span></td><td><span title="ねる - to sleep" class="popup">寝<em>ろ</em></span></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="おきる - to get up" class="popup">起き<em>る</em></span></td><td><span title="おきる - to get up" class="popup">起き<em>ろ</em></span></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="でる - to come out" class="popup">出<em>る</em></span></td><td><span title="でる - to come out" class="popup">出<em>ろ</em></span></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="かける - to hang" class="popup">掛け<em>る</em></span></td><td><span title="かける - to hang" class="popup">掛け<em>ろ</em></span></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="すてる - to throw away" class="popup">捨て<em>る</em></span></td><td><span title="すてる - to throw away" class="popup">捨て<em>ろ</em></span></td></tr>

</table>
</td>


<td rowspan="2">
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
</td>

<td>
<table border="1" cellpadding="5">
<caption>Sample u-verbs</caption>
<tr align="center"><th>Plain</th><th>Command</th>
<th>ローマ字</th><th>ローマ字 (Com)</th></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="はなす - to speak" class="popup">話<em>す</em></span></td><td><span title="はなす - to speak" class="popup">話<em>せ</em></span></td>
<td>hanas<em>u</em></td><td>hanas<em>e</em></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="きく - to ask, to hear" class="popup">聞<em>く</em></span></td><td><span title="きく - to ask, to hear" class="popup">聞<em>け</em></span></td>
<td>kik<em>u</em></td><td>kik<em>e</em></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="あそぶ - to play" class="popup">遊<em>ぶ</em></span></td><td><span title="あそぶ - to play" class="popup">遊<em>べ</em></span></td>
<td>asob<em>u</em></td><td>asob<em>e</em></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="まつ - to wait" class="popup">待<em>つ</em></span></td><td><span title="まつ - to wait" class="popup">待<em>て</em></span></td>
<td>mat<em>u</em></td><td>mat<em>e</em></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="のむ - to drink" class="popup">飲<em>む</em></span></td><td><span title="のむ - to drink" class="popup">飲<em>め</em></span></td>
<td>nom<em>u</em></td><td>nom<em>e</em></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="なおる - to be fixed" class="popup">直<em>る</em></span></td><td><span title="なおる - to be fixed" class="popup">直<em>れ</em></span></td>
<td>naor<em>u</em></td><td>naor<em>e</em></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="しぬ - die " class="popup">死<em>ぬ</em></span></td><td><span title="しぬ - die " class="popup">死<em>ね</em></span></td>
<td>shin<em>u</em></td><td>shin<em>e</em></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="かう - to buy " class="popup">買<em>う</em></span></td><td><span title="かう - to buy " class="popup">買<em>え</em></span></td>
<td>ka<em>u</em></td><td>ka<em>e</em></td></tr>

</table>
</td>

<td rowspan="2">
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
</td>


<td valign="top">
<table border="1" cellpadding="5">
<caption>Exception Verbs</caption>
<tr align="center"><th>Plain</th><th>Command</th></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="する - to do" class="popup">する</span></td><td><span title="する - to do" class="popup">しろ</span></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="くる - to come" class="popup">くる</span></td><td><span title="くる - to come" class="popup">こい</span></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="くれる - to give" class="popup">くれる</span></td><td><span title="くれる - to give" class="popup">くれ</span></td></tr>

</table>
</td>
</tr>
</table>

<h3>Examples</h3>
（１）　<span title="すき - like" class="popup">好き</span>に<em><span title="する - to do" class="popup">しろ</span></em>。- Do as you please.
<br />（２）　<span title="あっち - that way" class="popup">あっち</span><em><span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行け</span></em>！- Go away!
<br />（３）　<span title="はやい - fast, early" class="popup">早く</span><span title="さけ - alcohol" class="popup">酒</span>を<span title="もつ - to hold" class="popup">持って</span><span title="くる - to come" class="popup">きて</span><em><span title="くれる - to give" class="popup">くれ</span></em>。- Hurry up and bring me some alcohol.

<p>
The negative command form is very simple: simply attach 「な」 to either ru-verbs or u-verbs.  Don't confuse this with the 「な」 gobi we will
be learning at the end of this section. The intonation is totally different.
</p>

<div class="sumbox">
<span class="summary">Using the negative command form</span>
<ul class="plain">
<li>Attach 「な」 to the verb.</li>
<li>例）　行く → 行く<em>な</em></li>
<li>例）　する → する<em>な</em></li>
</ul>
</div>


<h3>Examples</h3>
（１）　<span title="それ - that " class="popup">それ</span>を<span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べる</span><em>な</em>！- Don't eat that!
<br />（２）　<span title="へん - strange" class="popup">変</span>な<span title="こと - event, matter" class="popup">こと</span>を<span title="いう - to say" class="popup">言う</span><em>な</em>！- Don't say such weird things!

<p>This is not to be confused with the shortened version of 「～なさい」 we just learned in the <a href="requests.html#part4.requests.html">last section</a>. The most obvious
difference (besides the clear difference in tone) is that in 「～なさい」, the verb is first converted to the stem while the negative command has no conjugation.
For example, for 「<span title="する - to do" class="popup">する</span>」, 「<span title="する - to do" class="popup">しな</span>」 would be the short version of
「<span title="する - to do" class="popup">しなさい</span>」 while 「<span title="する - to do" class="popup">する</span>な」 would be a negative command.
</p>

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<p class="copyright">Copyright &copy; 2003-2007 Tae Kim (taekim.japanese AT gmail.com)</p>
<p>
<a href="http://www.guidetojapanese.org/forum/viewforum.php?id=18">Report a correction or suggestion for this page</a>
</p>
</div>

<div class="small" style="text-align:right;"><pre>This page has last been revised on 2005/9/21
Added くれ exception for command form. (2005/9/21)
</pre></div>

<br class="break"/>
<h1>3 licks to get to the center of a tootsie roll lollipop</h1>

<br /><br />

<p align="right"><i>What! ...is the air-speed velocity of an unladen swallow?</i>
<br />-Holy Grail Bridgekeeper</p>

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
<tr><td>
<div class="outline">
<!-- outline menu -->
<center><span class="summary">Outline</span></center>
<ol>
<li><a href="#part1.numbers.html">Numbers and Amounts</a></li>
<li><a href="#part2.numbers.html">The Number System</a></li>
<li><a href="#part3.numbers.html">Counting and Counters</a></li>
<li><a href="#part4.numbers.html">Using 「<span title="め - counter for the nth item or event, eye(s)" class="popup">目</span>」 to show order</a></li>
</ol>
</div>
</td></tr>
</table>


<h2 id="part1.numbers.html">Numbers and Amounts</h2>
Numbers and counting in Japanese are difficult enough to require its own section.  First of all, the number system is in units of four instead of
three, which can make converting into English quite difficult.  Also, there are things called counters, which are required to count different types of
objects, animals, or people.  We will learn the most generic and widely used counters to get you started so that you can learn more on your own.
To be honest, counters might be the only thing that'll make you want to quit learning Japanese, it's that bad.  I recommend you digest only a little
bit of this section at a time because it's awfully a lot of things to memorize.

<h2 id="part2.numbers.html">The Number System</h2>
The Japanese number system is spread into units of four.  So a number such as 10,000,000 is actually split up as 1000,0000.  However, thanks
to the strong influence of the Western world and the standardization of numbers, when numbers are actually written, the split-off is three digits.
Here are the first ten numbers.

<p />
<center>
<table border="1" cellpadding="5">

<tr align="center"><th>Numerals</th><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>3</td><td>4</td><td>5</td><td>6</td><td>7</td><td>8</td><td>9</td><td>10</td>
</tr>
<tr align="center">
	<th><span title="かんじ - kanji" class="popup">漢字</span></th>
	<td><span title="いち - one" class="popup">一</span></td>
	<td><span title="に - two" class="popup">二</span></td>
	<td><span title="さん - three" class="popup">三</span></td>
	<td><span title="し、よん - four" class="popup">四</span></td>
	<td><span title="ご - five" class="popup">五</span></td>
	<td><span title="ろく - six" class="popup">六</span></td>
	<td><span title="しち、なな - seven" class="popup">七</span></td>
	<td><span title="はち - eight" class="popup">八</span></td>
	<td><span title="きゅう - nine" class="popup">九</span></td>
	<td><span title="じゅう - ten" class="popup">十</span></td>
</tr>
<tr align="center">
	<th><span title="ひらがな - hiragana" class="popup">ひらがな</span></th>
	<td><span title="いち - one" class="popup">いち</span></td>
	<td><span title="に - two" class="popup">に</span></td>
	<td><span title="さん - three" class="popup">さん</span></td>
	<td><span title="し - four" class="popup">し</span>／<span title="よん - four" class="popup">よん</span></td>
	<td><span title="ご - five" class="popup">ご</span></td>
	<td><span title="ろく - six" class="popup">ろく</span></td>
	<td><span title="しち - seven" class="popup">しち</span>／<span title="なな - seven" class="popup">なな</span></td>
	<td><span title="はち - eight" class="popup">はち</span></td>
	<td><span title="きゅう - nine" class="popup">きゅう</span></td>
	<td><span title="じゅう - ten" class="popup">じゅう</span></td>
</tr>

</table>
</center>

<p>As the chart indicates, 4 can either be 「<span title="し - four" class="popup">し</span>」 or 「<span title="よん - four" class="popup">よん</span>」 and 7 can
either be 「<span title="しち - seven" class="popup">しち</span>」 or 「<span title="なな - seven" class="popup">なな</span>」.  Basically, both are acceptable up to 10.
However, past ten, the reading is almost always 「<span title="よん - four" class="popup">よん</span>」 and 「<span title="なな - seven" class="popup">なな</span>」.
In general, 「<span title="よん - four" class="popup">よん</span>」 and 「<span title="なな - seven" class="popup">なな</span>」 are preferred over
「<span title="し - four" class="popup">し</span>」 and 「<span title="しち - seven" class="popup">しち</span>」 in most circumstances.
</p>

<p>You can simply count from 1 to 99 with just these ten numbers.  Japanese is easier than English in this respect because you do not have to
memorize separate words such as "twenty" or "fifty".  In Japanese, it's simply just "two ten" and "five ten".
</p>

<p>
（１）　三十一 （さんじゅういち） = 31
<br />（２）　五十四 （ごじゅうよん）= 54
<br />（３）　七十七 （ななじゅうなな）= 77
<br />（４）　二十 （にじゅう） = 20
</p>
<p>Notice that numbers are either always written in kanji or numerals because hiragana can get rather long and hard to decipher.
</p>

<h3>Numbers past 99</h3>
Here are the higher numbers:
<br />
<center>
<table border="1" cellpadding="5">
<tr align="center"><th>Numerals</th><td>100</td><td>1,000</td><td>10,000</td><td>10^8</td><td>10^12</td>
</tr>
<tr align="center">
	<th><span title="かんじ - kanji" class="popup">漢字</span></th>
	<td><span title="ひゃく - unit for hundred" class="popup">百</span></td>
	<td><span title="せん - unit for thousand" class="popup">千</span></td>
	<td><span title="まん - unit for ten-thousand" class="popup">万</span></td>
	<td><span title="おく - unit for hundred-million" class="popup">億</span></td>
	<td><span title="ちょう - unit for trillion" class="popup">兆</span></td>
</tr>
<tr align="center">
	<th><span title="ひらがな - hiragana" class="popup">ひらがな</span></th>
	<td><span title="ひゃく - unit for hundred" class="popup">ひゃく</span></td>
	<td><span title="せん - unit for thousand" class="popup">せん</span></td>
	<td><span title="まん - unit for ten-thousand" class="popup">まん</span></td>
	<td><span title="おく - unit for hundred-million" class="popup">おく</span></td>
	<td><span title="ちょう - unit for trillion" class="popup">ちょう</span></td>
</tr>
</table>
</center>

<p>Notice how the numbers jumped four digits from 10^4 to 10^8 between <span title="まん - unit for ten-thousand" class="popup">万</span> and
<span title="おく - unit for hundred-million" class="popup">億</span>?  That's because Japanese is divided into units of four.
Once you get past 1万 (10,000), you start all over until you reach 9,999万, then it rotates to <span title="いちおく - one hundred million" class="popup">1億</span>
(100,000,000).  By the way, <span title="ひゃく - one hundred" class="popup">百</span> is 100 and <span title="せん - one thousand" class="popup">千</span> is 1,000, but anything
past that, and you need to attach a 1 so the rest of the units become <span title="いちまん - ten thousand" class="popup">一万</span> (10^4)、<span title="いちおく - one hundred million" class="popup">一億</span> (10^8)、<span title="いっちょう - one trillion" class="popup">一兆</span> (10^12).
</p>
<p> Now you can count up to 9,999,999,999,999,999 or 9,999兆 just by chaining the numbers same as before.  This is where the problems start, however.
Try saying 「いちちょう」 、「ろくひゃく」、「さんせん」  really quickly, you'll notice it's difficult because of the repetition of similar consonant sounds.
Therefore, Japanese people have decided to make it easier on themselves by pronouncing them as 「<span title="いっちょう - one trillion" class="popup">いっちょう</span>」、
「<span title="ろっぴゃく - six hundred" class="popup">ろっぴゃく</span>」、and 「<span title="さんぜん - three thousand" class="popup">さんぜん</span>」.  We
already discussed this near the end of the <a href="kanji.html">Kanji</a> section.  Unfortunately, it makes it all the harder for you to remember
when to pronounce what.  Here are all the slight sound changes.
</p>

<center>
<table border="1" cellpadding="5">
<tr align="center">
	<th>Numerals</th>
	<th><span title="かんじ - kanji" class="popup">漢字</span></th>
	<th><span title="ひらがな - hiragana" class="popup">ひらがな</span></th>
</tr>
<tr align="center"><td>300</td><td><span title="さんびゃく - three hundred" class="popup">三百</span></td><td><span title="さんびゃく - three hundred" class="popup">さんびゃく</span></td>
</tr>
<tr align="center"><td>600</td><td><span title="ろっぴゃく - six hundred" class="popup">六百</span></td><td><span title="ろっぴゃく - six hundred" class="popup">ろっぴゃく</span></td>
</tr>
<tr align="center"><td>800</td><td><span title="はっぴゃく - eight hundred" class="popup">八百</span></td><td><span title="はっぴゃく - eight hundred" class="popup">はっぴゃく</span></td>
</tr>
<tr align="center"><td>3000</td><td><span title="さんぜん - three thousand" class="popup">三千</span></td><td><span title="さんぜん - three thousand" class="popup">さんぜん</span></td>
</tr>
<tr align="center"><td>8000</td><td><span title="はっせん - eight thousand" class="popup">八千</span></td><td><span title="はっせん - eight thousand" class="popup">はっせん</span></td>
</tr>
<tr align="center"><td>10^12</td><td><span title="いっちょう - one trillion" class="popup">一兆</span></td><td><span title="いっちょう - one trillion" class="popup">いっちょう</span></td>
</tr>
</table>
</center>

<p>
（１）　四万三千七十六 （よんまんさんぜんななじゅうろく） = 43,076
<br />（２）　七億六百二十四万九千二百二十二 （ななおくろっぴゃくにじゅうよんまんきゅうせんにひゃくにじゅうに） = 706,249,222
<br />（３）　五百兆二万一 （ごひゃくちょうにまんいち） = 500,000,000,020,001
</p>

<p>Notice that it is customary to write large numbers only in numerals as even kanji can become difficult to decipher.
</p>

<p>Some of you may be clamoring for larger numbers but you'll hardly ever use 「<span title="おく - unit for hundred-million" class="popup">億</span>」 much less
「<span title="ちょう - unit for trillion" class="popup">兆</span>」.  I will guarantee that you will not need to
know this but I looked up a <a href="http://macky0625.hp.infoseek.co.jp/ookazukokazu.htm">list</a> for curiosity's sake.
</p>

<h3>Numbers smaller or less than 1</h3>
Zero in Japanese is 「<span title="れい - zero" class="popup">零</span>」 but 「<span title="ゼロ - zero" class="popup">ゼロ</span>」 or 「<span title="マル - 'O' or zero" class="popup">マル</span>」 is more common in modern Japanese.  There is no special method for reading decimals, you simply say 「<span title="てん - period, point" class="popup">点</span>」 for the dot and read each individual number after the decimal point.  Here's an example:
<br />（１） 0.0021 - <span title="ゼロ - zero" class="popup">ゼロ</span>、<span title="てん - period, point" class="popup">点</span>、<span title="ゼロ - zero" class="popup">ゼロ</span>、<span title="ゼロ - zero" class="popup">ゼロ</span>、<span title="に - two" class="popup">二</span>、<span title="いち - one" class="popup">一</span>。

<p>For negative numbers, everything is the same as positive numbers except that you say 「<span title="マイナス - minus" class="popup">マイナス</span>」 first.
<br />（１） <span title="マイナス - minus" class="popup">マイナス</span>二十九 = -29
</p>

<h2 id="part3.numbers.html">Counting and Counters</h2>
Ah, and now we come to the fun part.  In Japanese, when you are simply counting numbers, everything is just as you would expect,
<span title="いち - one" class="popup">一</span>、<span title="に - two" class="popup">二</span>、<span title="さん - three" class="popup">三</span>、
and so on.  However, if you want to count any type of object, you have to use something called a counter which depends on what type of object
you are counting and on top of this, there are various sound changes similar to the ones we saw with <span title="ろっぴゃく - six hundred" class="popup">六百</span>, etc..  The counter themselves are
usually single kanji characters that often have a special reading just for the counter.  First, let's learn the counters for dates

<h3>Dates</h3>
The year is very easy.  All you have to do is say the number and add 「<span title="ねん - counter for year" class="popup">年</span>」 which is pronounced here as
「<span title="ねん - counter for year" class="popup">ねん</span>」.  For example, Year 2003 becomes <span title="にせんさんねん - Year 2003" class="popup">2003年</span>
(にせんさんねん）.  The catch is that there is another calendar which starts over every time a new emperor ascends the throne.  The year is
preceded by the era, for example this year is: <span title="へいせい - Heisei era" class="popup">平成</span><span title="じゅうごねん - Year 15" class="popup">15年</span>.  My birthday, 1981 is
<span title="しょうわ - Showa era" class="popup">昭和</span><span title="ごじゅうろく - Year 56" class="popup">56年</span> (The Showa era lasted from 1926 to 1989).
You may think that you don't need to know this but if you're going to be filling out forms in Japan, they often ask you for your birthday or the
current date in the Japanese calendar （<span title="われき - Japanese calendar" class="popup">和暦</span>）. So here's a <a href="http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2272.html">neat converter</a> you can use to convert to the Japanese calendar.
<p>Saying the months is actually easier than English because all you have to do is write the number (either in numerals or kanji)
of the month and add 「<span title="がつ - counter for month" class="popup">月</span>」 which is read as
「<span title="がつ - counter for month" class="popup">がつ</span>」.  However, you need to pay attention to April
（<span title="しがつ - April" class="popup">４月</span>）, July （<span title="しちがつ - July" class="popup">７月</span>）, and September
（<span title="くがつ - September" class="popup">９月</span>） which are pronounced 「<span title="しがつ - April" class="popup">しがつ</span>」、
「<span title="しちがつ - July" class="popup">しちがつ</span>」、and 「<span title="くがつ - September" class="popup">くがつ</span>」 respectively.
</p>
<p>Finally, we get to the days of the month, which is where the headache starts.  The first day of the month is
「<span title="ついたち - the first of the month" class="popup">ついたち</span>」 （<span title="ついたち - the first of the month" class="popup">一日</span>）;
<i>different</i> from 「<span title="いちにち - one day" class="popup">いちにち</span>」　（<span title="いちにち - one day" class="popup">一日</span>）, which
means "one day".  Besides this and some other exceptions we'll soon cover, you can simply say the number and add
「<span title="にち - counter for day" class="popup">日</span>」 which is pronounced
here as 「<span title="にち - counter for day" class="popup">にち</span>」.  For example, the 26th becomes <span title="にじゅうろくにち - the 26th of the month" class="popup">26日</span> （<span title="にじゅうろくにち - the 26th of the month" class="popup">にじゅうろくにち</span>）.  Pretty simple,
<i>however</i>, the first 10 days, the 14th, 19th, 20th, 29th have special readings that
you must separately memorize.  If you like memorizing things, you'll have a ball here.  Notice that the kanji doesn't change but the reading does.
</p>

<center>
<table border="1" cellpadding="5">
<tr align="center">
	<th><span title="えいご - English" class="popup">英<br />語</span></th>
	<td>the 1st</td>
	<td>the 2nd</td>
	<td>the 3rd</td>
	<td>the 4th</td>
	<td>the 5th</td>
	<td>the 6th</td>
	<td>the 7th</td>
	<td>the 8th</td>
	<td>the 9th</td>
	<td>the 10th</td>
	<td>the 14th</td>
	<td>the 19th</td>
	<td>the 20th</td>
	<td>the 24th</td>
	<td>the 29th</td>
</tr>
<tr align="center">
	<th><span title="かんじ - kanji" class="popup">漢<br />字</span></th>
	<td><span title="ついたち - the 1st of the month" class="popup">一<br />日</span></td>
	<td><span title="ふつか - the 2nd of the month" class="popup">二<br />日</span></td>
	<td><span title="みっか - the 3rd of the month" class="popup">三<br />日</span></td>
	<td><span title="よっか - the 4th of the month" class="popup">四<br />日</span></td>
	<td><span title="いつか - the 5th of the month" class="popup">五<br />日</span></td>
	<td><span title="むいか - the 6th of the month" class="popup">六<br />日</span></td>
	<td><span title="ないか - the 7th of the month" class="popup">七<br />日</span></td>
	<td><span title="ようか - the 8th of the month" class="popup">八<br />日</span></td>
	<td><span title="ここのか - the 9th of the month" class="popup">九<br />日</span></td>
	<td><span title="とおか - the 10th of the month" class="popup">十<br />日</span></td>
	<td><span title="じゅうよっか - the 14th of the month" class="popup">十<br />四<br />日</span></td>
	<td><span title="じゅうくにち - the 19th of the month" class="popup">十<br />九<br />日</span></td>
	<td><span title="はつか - the 20th of the month" class="popup">二<br />十<br />日</span></td>
	<td><span title="にじゅうよっか - the 24th of the month" class="popup">二<br />十<br />四<br />日</span></td>
	<td><span title="にじゅうくにち - the 29th of the month" class="popup">二<br />十<br />九<br />日</span></td>
</tr>
<tr align="center">
	<th><span title="ひらがな - hiragana" class="popup">ひ<br />ら<br />が<br />な</span></th>
	<td><span title="ついたち - the 1st of the month" class="popup">つ<br />い<br />た<br />ち</span></td>
	<td><span title="ふつか - the 2nd of the month" class="popup">ふ<br />つ<br />か</span></td>
	<td><span title="みっか - the 3rd of the month" class="popup">み<br />っ<br />か</span></td>
	<td><span title="よっか - the 4th of the month" class="popup">よ<br />っ<br />か</span></td>
	<td><span title="いつか - the 5th of the month" class="popup">い<br />つ<br />か</span></td>
	<td><span title="むいか - the 6th of the month" class="popup">む<br />い<br />か</span></td>
	<td><span title="ないか - the 7th of the month" class="popup">な<br />の<br />か</span></td>
	<td><span title="ようか - the 8th of the month" class="popup">よ<br />う<br />か</span></td>
	<td><span title="ここのか - the 9th of the month" class="popup">こ<br />こ<br />の<br />か</span></td>
	<td><span title="とおか - the 10th of the month" class="popup">と<br />お<br />か<br /></span></td>
	<td><span title="じゅうよっか - the 14th of the month" class="popup">じ<br />ゅ<br />う<br />よ<br />っ<br />か</span></td>
	<td><span title="じゅうくにち - the 19th of the month" class="popup">じ<br />ゅ<br />う<br />く<br />に<br />ち</span></td>
	<td><span title="はつか - the 20th of the month" class="popup">は<br />つ<br />か</span></td>
	<td><span title="にじゅうよっか - the 24th of the month" class="popup">に<br />じ<br />ゅ<br />う<br />よ<br />っ<br />か</span></td>
	<td><span title="にじゅうくにち - the 29th of the month" class="popup">に<br />じ<br />ゅ<br />う<br />く<br />に<br />ち</span></td>
</tr>
</table>
</center>

<p>In Japan, the full format for dates follows the international date format and looks like: XXXX年YY月ZZ日.  For example, today's date would be:
<span title="にせんさんねん - Year 2003" class="popup">2003年</span><span title="じゅうにがつ - December" class="popup">12月</span>
<span title="ふつか - the 2nd of the month" class="popup">2日</span>
</p>

<h3>Time</h3>
Now, we'll learn how to tell time.  The hour is given by saying the number and adding 「<span title="じ - counter for hour(s)" class="popup">時</span>」
which is pronounced here as 「<span title="じ - counter for hour(s)" class="popup">じ</span>」.  Here is a chart of exceptions to look out for.
<br />

<center>
<table border="1" cellpadding="5">
<tr align="center"><th><span title="えいご - English" class="popup">英語</span></th><td>4 o'clock</td><td>7 o'clock</td><td>9 o'clock</td>
</tr>
<tr align="center">
	<th><span title="かんじ - kanji" class="popup">漢字</span></th>
	<td><span title="よじ - 4 o'clock" class="popup">四時</span></td>
	<td><span title="しちじ - 7 o'clock" class="popup">七時</span></td>
	<td><span title="くじ - 9 o'clock" class="popup">九時</span></td>
</tr>
<tr align="center">
	<th><span title="ひらがな - hiragana" class="popup">ひらがな</span></th>
	<td><span title="よじ - 4 o'clock" class="popup">よじ</span></td>
	<td><span title="しちじ - 7 o'clock" class="popup">しちじ</span></td>
	<td><span title="くじ - 9 o'clock" class="popup">くじ</span></td>
</tr>
</table>
</center>
<br />
Notice how the numbers 4, 7, and 9 keep coming up to be a pain in the butt?  Well, those and sometimes 1, 6 and 8 are the numbers to watch out
for.

<p>The minutes are given by adding 「<span title="ふん - counter for minute(s)" class="popup">分</span>」 which usually read as
「<span title="ふん - counter for minute(s)" class="popup">ふん</span>」 with the following exceptions:
</p>

<center>
<table border="1" cellpadding="5">
<tr align="center">
	<th><span title="えいご - English" class="popup">英語</span></th>
	<td>1 min</td><td>3 min</td><td>4 min</td><td>6 min</td><td>8 min</td><td>10 min</td>
</tr>
<tr align="center">
	<th><span title="かんじ - kanji" class="popup">漢字</span></th>
	<td><span title="いっぷん - 1 minute" class="popup">一分</span></td>
	<td><span title="さんぷん - 3 minutes" class="popup">三分</span></td>
	<td><span title="よんぷん - 4 minutes" class="popup">四分</span></td>
	<td><span title="ろっぷん - 6 minutes" class="popup">六分</span></td>
	<td><span title="はっぷん - 8 minutes" class="popup">八分</span></td>
	<td><span title="じゅっぷん - 10 minutes" class="popup">十分</span></td>
</tr>
<tr align="center">
	<th><span title="ひらがな - hiragana" class="popup">ひらがな</span></th>
	<td><span title="いっぷん - 1 minute" class="popup">いっぷん</span></td>
	<td><span title="さんぷん - 3 minutes" class="popup">さんぷん</span></td>
	<td><span title="よんぷん - 4 minutes" class="popup">よんぷん</span></td>
	<td><span title="ろっぷん - 6 minutes" class="popup">ろっぷん</span></td>
	<td><span title="はっぷん - 8 minutes" class="popup">はっぷん</span></td>
	<td><span title="じゅっぷん - 10 minutes" class="popup">じゅっぷん</span></td>
</tr>
</table>
</center>

<p>For higher number, you use the normal pronunciation for the higher digits and
rotate around the same readings for 1 to 10. For instance, 24 minutes is 「<span title="にじゅうよんぷん - 24 minutes" class="popup">にじゅうよんぷん</span>」
（<span title="にじゅうよんぷん - 24 minutes" class="popup">二十四分</span>） while
30 minutes is 「<span title="さんじゅっぷん - 30 minutes" class="popup">さんじゅっぷん</span>」
（<span title="さんじゅっぷん - 30 minutes" class="popup">三十分</span>）.
There are also other less common but still correct pronunciations such as 「<span title="はちふん - 8 minutes" class="popup">はちふん</span>」 for
「<span title="はちふん - 8 minutes" class="popup">八分</span>」 and 「<span title="じっぷん - 10 minutes" class="popup">じっぷん</span>」 for
「<span title="じっぷん - 10 minutes" class="popup">十分</span>」 (this one is almost never used).
</p>

<p>All readings for seconds consists of the number plus 「<span title="びょう - counter for second(s)" class="popup">秒</span>」, which is read as
「<span title="びょう - counter for second(s)" class="popup">びょう</span>」. There are no exceptions for seconds and all the readings
are the same. </p>

<p>Some examples of time.
<br />（１） 1時24分（いちじ・にじゅうよんぷん） - 1:24
<br />（２） 午後4時10分 （ごご・よじ・じゅっぷん） - 4:10 PM
<br />（３） 午前9時16分 （ごぜん・くじ・じゅうろっぷん） - 9:16 AM
<br />（４） 13時16分 （じゅうさんじ・じゅうろっぷん） - 13:16
<br />（５） 2時18分13秒 （にじ・じゅうはっぷん・じゅうさんびょう） - 2:18:13
</p>

<h3>A Span of Time</h3>
Ha!  I bet you thought you were done with dates and time, well guess again.  This time we will learn counters for counting spans of time, days,
months, and years.  The basic counter for a span of time is 「<span title="かん - designates a span of time or space" class="popup">間</span>」, which is read as
「<span title="かん - designates a span of time or space" class="popup">かん</span>」.  You can attach it to the end of hours, days, weeks,
and years.  Minutes (in general) and seconds do not need this counter and months have a separate counter, which we will cover next.

<p>（１）　二時間四十分 （にじかん・よんじゅっぷん） - 2 hours and 40 minutes
<br />（２）　二十日間 （はつかかん） - 20 days
<br />（３）　十五日間 （じゅうごにちかん） - 15 days
<br />（４）　二年間 （にねんかん） - two years
<br />（５）　三週間 （さんしゅうかん） - three weeks
<br />（６） 　一日 （いちにち） - 1 day
<br />As mentioned before, a period of one day is 「<span title="いちにち - one day" class="popup">一日</span>」
（<span title="いちにち - one day" class="popup">いちにち</span>） which is different from the 1st of the month:
「<span title="ついたち - the first of the month" class="popup">ついたち</span>」.
</p>
<p>
Pronunciations to watch out for when counting weeks is one week: 「<span title="いっしゅうかん - span of one week" class="popup">一週間</span>」
（<span title="いっしゅうかん - span of one week" class="popup">いっしゅうかん</span>） and 8 weeks:
「<span title="はっしゅうかん - span of eight weeks" class="popup">八週間</span>」 （<span title="はっしゅうかん - span of eight weeks" class="popup">はっしゅうかん</span>）.
</p>

<p>To count the number of months, you simple take a regular number and add 「か」 and 「<span title="げつ - counter for number of month(s)" class="popup">月</span>」
which is pronounced here as 「<span title="げつ - counter for number of month(s)" class="popup">げつ</span>」 and <i>not</i>
「<span title="がつ - counter for month" class="popup">がつ</span>」.  The 「か」 used in this counter  is usually written as a small katakana 「ヶ」 which is confusing because
it's still pronounced as 「か」 and not 「け」.  The small 「ヶ」 is actually totally different from the katakana 「ケ」 and is really an abbreviation for the kanji
「箇」, the original kanji for the counter. This small 「ヶ」 is also used in some place names such as 「<span title="せんだがや - Sendagaya" class="popup">千駄<em>ヶ</em>谷</span>」 and
other counters, such as the counter for location described in the "Other Counters" section below.
</p>

<p>In counting months, you should watch out for the following sound changes:</p>

<center>
<table border="1" cellpadding="5">
<tr align="center"><th><span title="えいご - English" class="popup">英語</span></th><td>1 month</td><td>6 months</td><td>10 months</td>
</tr>
<tr align="center">
	<th><span title="かんじ - kanji" class="popup">漢字</span></th>
	<td><span title="いっかげつ - span of one month" class="popup">一ヶ月</span></td>
	<td><span title="ろっかげつ - span of six months" class="popup">六ヶ月</span></td>
	<td><span title="じゅっかげつ - span of ten months" class="popup">十ヶ月</span></td>
</tr>
<tr align="center">
	<th><span title="ひらがな - hiragana" class="popup">ひらがな</span></th>
	<td><span title="いっかげつ - span of one month" class="popup">いっかげつ</span></td>
	<td><span title="ろっかげつ - span of six months" class="popup">ろっかげつ</span></td>
	<td><span title="じゅっかげつ - span of ten months" class="popup">じゅっかげつ</span></td>
</tr>
</table>
</center>

<p>Just like minutes, the high numbers rotate back using the same sounds for 1 to 10.
<br />（１）　十一ヶ月 （じゅういっかげつ） - Eleven months
<br />（２）　二十ヶ月 （にじゅっかげつ） - Twenty months
<br />（３）　三十三ヶ月 （さんじゅうさんかげつ） - Thirty three months
</p>


<h3>Other Counters</h3>
We'll cover some of the most common counters so that you'll be familiar with how counters work.  This will hopefully allow you to learn other
counters on your own because there are too many to even consider covering them all.  The important thing to remember is that using the wrong
counter is grammatically incorrect.  If you are counting people, you <b>must</b> use the people counter, etc.  Sometimes, it is acceptable to use
a more generic counter when a less commonly used counter applies.  Here are some counters.

<p />
<center>
<table border="1" cellpadding="5">
<tr align="center"><th><span title="にほんご - Japanese language" class="popup">日本語</span></th><th>When to Use</th></tr>
<tr align="center"><td><span title="にん - counter for people" class="popup">人</span></td><td>To count the number of people</td></tr>
<tr align="center"><td><span title="ほん - counter for long, cylindrical objects" class="popup">本</span></td><td>To count long, cylindrical objects such as bottles or chopsticks</td></tr>
<tr align="center"><td><span title="まい - counter for thin objects" class="popup">枚</span></td><td>To count thin objects such as paper or shirts</td></tr>
<tr align="center"><td><span title="さつ - counter for bound objects" class="popup">冊</span></td><td>To count bound objects usually books</td></tr>
<tr align="center"><td><span title="ひき - counter for small animals" class="popup">匹</span></td><td>To count small animals like cats or dogs</td></tr>
<tr align="center"><td><span title="さい - counter for age" class="popup">歳</span></td><td>To count the age of a living creatures such as people</td></tr>
<tr align="center"><td><span title="こ - counter for small (often round) objects" class="popup">個</span></td><td>To count small (often round) objects</td></tr>
<tr align="center"><td><span title="かい - counter for number of times" class="popup">回</span></td><td>To count number of times</td></tr>
<tr align="center"><td><span title="かしょ - counter for number of locations" class="popup">ヶ所（箇所）</span></td><td>To count number of locations</td></tr>
<tr align="center"><td><span title="つ - generic counter" class="popup">つ</span></td><td>To count any generic object that has a rare or no counter</td></tr>
</table>
</center>

<p />
<center>
<table border="1" cellpadding="5">
<caption>Counting 1 to 10 (some variations might exist)</caption>
<tr align="center">
	<td></td>
	<th><span title="にん - counter for people" class="popup">人</span></th>
	<th><span title="ほん - counter for long, cylindrical objects" class="popup">本</span></th>
	<th><span title="まい - counter for thin objects" class="popup">枚</span></th>
	<th><span title="さつ - counter for bound objects" class="popup">冊</span></th>
	<th><span title="ひき - counter for small animals" class="popup">匹</span></th>
	<th><span title="さい - counter for age" class="popup">歳</span></th>
	<th><span title="こ - counter for small (often round) objects" class="popup">個</span></th>
	<th><span title="かい - counter for number of times" class="popup">回</span></th>
	<th><span title="かしょ - counter for number of locations" class="popup">ヶ所（箇所）</span></th>
	<th><span title="つ - generic counter" class="popup">つ</span></th>
</tr>
<tr align="center"><th>1</th>
	<td><em>ひとり</em></td>
	<td><em>いっぽん</em></td>
	<td>いちまい</td>
	<td><em>いっさつ</em></td>
	<td><em>いっぴき</em></td>
	<td><em>いっさい</em></td>
	<td><em>いっこ</em></td>
	<td><em>いっかい</em></td>
	<td><em>いっかしょ</em></td>
	<td><em>ひとつ</em></td></tr>
<tr align="center"><th>2</th>
	<td><em>ふたり</em></td>
	<td>にほん</td>
	<td>にまい</td>
	<td>にさつ</td>
	<td>にひき</td>
	<td>にさい</td>
	<td>にこ</td>
	<td>にかい</td>
	<td>にかしょ</td>
	<td><em>ふたつ</em></td></tr>
<tr align="center"><th>3</th>
	<td>さんにん</td>
	<td><em>さんぼん</em></td>
	<td>さんまい</td>
	<td>さんさつ</td>
	<td><em>さんびき</em></td>
	<td>さんさい</td>
	<td>さんこ</td>
	<td>さんかい</td>
	<td>さんかしょ</td>
	<td><em>みっつ</em></td></tr>
<tr align="center"><th>4</th>
	<td>よにん</td>
	<td>よんほん</td>
	<td>よんまい</td>
	<td>よんさつ</td>
	<td>よんひき</td>
	<td>よんさい</td>
	<td>よんこ</td>
	<td>よんかい</td>
	<td>よんかしょ</td>
	<td><em>よっつ</em></td></tr>
<tr align="center"><th>5</th>
	<td>ごにん</td>
	<td>ごほん</td>
	<td>ごまい</td>
	<td>ごさつ</td>
	<td>ごひき</td>
	<td>ごさい</td>
	<td>ごこ</td>
	<td>ごかい</td>
	<td>ごかしょ</td>
	<td><em>いつつ</em></td></tr>
<tr align="center"><th>6</th>
	<td>ろくにん</td>
	<td><em>ろっぽん</em></td>
	<td>ろくまい</td>
	<td>ろくさつ</td>
	<td><em>ろっぴき</em></td>
	<td>ろくさい</td>
	<td><em>ろっこ</em></td>
	<td><em>ろっかい</em></td>
	<td><em>ろっかしょ</em></td>
	<td><em>むっつ</em></td></tr>
<tr align="center"><th>7</th>
	<td><em>しちにん</em></td>
	<td>ななほん</td>
	<td>ななまい</td>
	<td>ななさつ</td>
	<td>ななひき</td>
	<td>ななさい</td>
	<td>ななこ</td>
	<td>ななかい</td>
	<td>ななかしょ</td>
	<td><em>ななつ</em></td></tr>
<tr align="center"><th>8</th>
	<td>はちにん</td>
	<td>はちほん</td>
	<td>はちまい</td>
	<td><em>はっさつ</em></td>
	<td><em>はっぴき</em></td>
	<td><em>はっさい</em></td>
	<td><em>はっこ</em></td>
	<td>はちかい</td>
	<td><em>はっかしょ</em></td>
	<td><em>やっつ</em></td></tr>
<tr align="center"><th>9</th>
	<td>きゅうにん</td>
	<td>きゅうほん</td>
	<td>きゅうまい</td>
	<td>きゅうさつ</td>
	<td>きゅうひき</td>
	<td>きゅうさい</td>
	<td>きゅうこ</td>
	<td>きゅうかい</td>
	<td>きゅうかしょ</td>
	<td><em>ここのつ</em></td></tr>
<tr align="center"><th>10</th>
	<td>じゅうにん</td>
	<td><em>じゅっぽん</em></td>
	<td>じゅうまい</td>
	<td><em>じゅっさつ</em></td>
	<td><em>じゅっぴき</em></td>
	<td><em>じゅっさい</em></td>
	<td><em>じゅっこ</em></td>
	<td><em>じゅっかい</em></td>
	<td><em>じゅっかしょ</em></td>
	<td><em>とお</em></td></tr>
</table>
</center>

<p>The changed sounds have been highlighted.
You don't count 0 because there is nothing to count.  You can simply use 「<span title="ある - to exist (inanimate)" class="popup">ない</span>」 or
「<span title="いる - to exist (animate)" class="popup">いない</span>」. The chart has hiragana for pronunciation but, as before,
it is usually written with either numbers or kanji plus the counter with the single exception of 「<span title="とお - ten things" class="popup">とお</span>」 which is
simply written as 「<span title="とお - ten things" class="popup">十</span>」.
<br />For higher numbers, it's the same as before, you use
the normal pronunciation for the higher digits and rotate around the same readings for 1 to 10 except for 「<span title="ひとり - one person" class="popup">一人</span>」
and 「<span title="ふたり - two people" class="popup">二人</span>」 which transforms to the normal 「<span title="いち - one" class="popup">いち</span>」
and 「<span title="に - two" class="popup">に</span>」 once you get past the first two. So 「<span title="ひとり - one person" class="popup">一人</span>」 is
「<span title="ひとり - one person" class="popup">ひとり</span>」 while 「<span title="じゅういちにん - eleven people" class="popup">11人</span>」 is
「<span title="じゅういちにん - eleven people" class="popup">じゅういちにん</span>」.
Also, the generic counter 「～つ」 only applies up to exactly ten items.  Past that, you can just use regular plain numbers.
</p>
<p>Note: The counter for age is often sometimes written as 「<span title="さい - simplified counter for age" class="popup">才</span>」 for those who don't have the
time to write out the more complex kanji.  Plus, age 20 is usually read as 「<span title="はたち - 20 years old" class="popup">はたち</span>」 and not 「にじゅっさい」.
</p>

<h2 id="part4.numbers.html">Using 「<span title="め - counter for the nth item or event, eye(s)" class="popup">目</span>」 to show order</h2>
You can attach 「<span title="め - counter for the nth item or event, eye(s)" class="popup">目</span>」 (read as
「<span title="め - counter for the nth item or event, eye(s)" class="popup">め</span>」) to various counters to indicate the order.  The most common example is
the 「<span title="ばん - counter for place or ranking" class="popup">番</span>」 counter.
For example, 「<span title="いちばん - number one" class="popup">一番</span>」　which means "number one" becomes "the first" when you add
「<span title="め - counter for the nth item or event, eye(s)" class="popup">目</span>」 （<span title="いちばんめ - the first one" class="popup">一番目</span>）.
Similarly, 「<span title="いっかいめ - the first time" class="popup">一回目</span>」 is the first time,
「<span title="にかいめ - the second time" class="popup">二回目</span>」 is the second time, 「<span title="よにんめ - the fourth person" class="popup">四人目</span>」
is the fourth person, and so on.

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<p class="copyright">Copyright &copy; 2003-2007 Tae Kim (taekim.japanese AT gmail.com)</p>
<p>
<a href="http://www.guidetojapanese.org/forum/viewforum.php?id=18">Report a correction or suggestion for this page</a>
</p>
</div>

<div class="small" style="text-align:right;"><pre>This page has last been revised on 2007/1/22</pre></div>

<br class="break"/>
<h1>This is only the end of the beginning</h1>

<br /><br /><br />

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
<tr><td>
<div class="outline">
<!-- outline menu -->
<center><span class="summary">Outline</span></center>
<ol>
<li><a href="#part1.wrapup4.html">Some more gobi and some review</a></li>
<li><a href="#part2.wrapup4.html">The next most often used gobi: 「な」 and 「さ」</a></li>
<li><a href="#part3.wrapup4.html">Gender-specific emphasis gobi: 「わ」、「ぞ」、「ぜ」、「かしら」</a></li>
<li><a href="#part4.wrapup4.html">That's a wrap!</a></li>
</ol>
</div>
</td></tr>
</table>

<h2 id="part1.wrapup4.html">Some more gobi and some review</h2>
We are coming to the end of the fourth major section of the guide.  Do you feel like your Japanese has improved?  We've come to the point where
we've learned enough conjugations to be able to start mixing them together in various useful combinations.  Of course this can be a little
difficult to do without some practice, which is the reason for this lesson.  But first, since we've come to the end of yet another section, let's learn some more
sentence endings.

<h2 id="part2.wrapup4.html">The next most often used gobi: 「な」 and 「さ」</h2>
Next to 「よ」 and 「ね」, 「さ」 and 「な」 are the next most commonly used gobi.

<p>「さ」, which is basically a very casual form of 「よ」, is similar to the English "like" in that some people throw it in at the
end of almost every single phrase.  Of course, that doesn't mean it's necessarily a very sophisticated manner of speech
but just like using "like" all the time, I cannot deny that it is an easy habit to fall into.  In that sense, due to its over-use, it has almost lost any
specific meaning.  You may overhear a conversation like the following:
</p>
<p><span title="だいがくせい - college student" class="popup">大学生</span>１：　<span title="あの - hey" class="popup">あの</span><em>さ</em>・・・
<br /><span title="だいがくせい - college student" class="popup">大学生</span>２：　<span title="うん - yeah" class="popup">うん</span>
<br /><span title="だいがくせい - college student" class="popup">大学生</span>１：　<span title="このあいだ - the other day" class="popup">この間</span><em>さ</em>・・・
<br /><span title="だいがくせい - college student" class="popup">大学生</span>２：　<span title="うん - yeah" class="popup">うん</span>
<br /><span title="だいがくせい - college student" class="popup">大学生</span>１：　<span title="ディズニーランド - Disney Land" class="popup">ディズニーランド</span>に<span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行った</span>んだけど<em>さ</em>、<span title="なんか - something like that" class="popup">なんか</span><em>さ</em>、<span title="すっごい - to a great extent" class="popup">すっごい</span><span title="こむ - to become crowded" class="popup">込んで</span>て・・・
<br /><span title="だいがくせい - college student" class="popup">大学生</span>２：　<span title="うん - yeah" class="popup">うん</span>
<br /><span title="だいがくせい - college student" class="popup">大学生</span>１：　<span title="なにも - nothing" class="popup">何も</span><span title="できる - to be able to do" class="popup">できなくて</span><em>さ</em>・・・
<br />And it goes on like this, sometimes the other person might break in to say something related to the topic.
</p>

<p>You can use 「な」 in place of 「ね」 when it sounds too soft and reserved for what you want to say or for the audience you are speaking to.  Its
rough sound generally applies to the male gender but is not necessarily restricted to only males.
<br /><span title="ようすけ - Yousuke" class="popup">洋介</span>：　<span title="いま - now" class="popup">今</span>、
<span title="としょかん - library" class="popup">図書館</span>に<span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行く</span>んだよ<em>な</em>。- You are going to the library now huh? (seeking explanation)
<br /><span title="ともこ - Tomoko" class="popup">智子</span>：　<span title="うん - yeah" class="popup">うん</span>、
<span title="なんで - why" class="popup">なんで</span>？ - Yeah, why?
</p>

<p>ボブ：　<span title="にほんご - Japanese language" class="popup">日本語</span>は、<span title="たくさん - a lot" class="popup">たくさん</span><span title="べんきょう - study" class="popup">勉強</span><span title="する - to do" class="popup">した</span>けど<em>な</em>。<span title="まだ - yet" class="popup">まだ</span><span title="ぜんぜん - at all" class="popup">全然</span><span title="わかる - to understand" class="popup">わからない</span>。- I studied Japanese a lot, right?  But, I still don't get it at all.
<br />アリス：　<span title="だいじょうぶ - ok" class="popup">大丈夫</span>よ。<span title="きっと - for sure" class="popup">きっと</span><span title="わかる - to understand" class="popup">わかる</span>ように<span title="なる - to become" class="popup">なる</span>から<em>さ</em>。- No problem. You'll become able to understand for sure, you know?
<br />ボブ：　なら<span title="いい - good" class="popup">いい</span>けど<em>な</em>。- If so, it would be good.
</p>

<p>The 「な」 gobi is often used with the question marker 「か」 to indicate that the speaker is considering something.
<br />（１）　<span title="きょう - today" class="popup">今日</span>は<span title="あめ - rain" class="popup">雨</span>が<span title="ふる - to precipitate" class="popup">降る</span><em>かな</em>？- I wonder if it'll rain today.
<br />（２）　<span title="いい - good" class="popup">いい</span><span title="だいがく - college" class="popup">大学</span>に<span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行ける</span><em>かな</em>？ - I wonder if I can go to a good college.
</p>

<h2 id="part3.wrapup4.html">Gender-specific emphasis gobi: 「わ」、「ぞ」、「ぜ」、「かしら」</h2>
These gobi are primarily used just to emphasize something and doesn't really have a meaning per se.  However, they can make your
statements sound much stronger and very gender-specific.  Using 「わ」 is just like 「よ」 except it will make you sound
almost sickeningly female (putting different dialects aside).  Use sparingly.  「かしら」 is also a very feminine version of 「かな」, which we just went over.
「ぞ」 and 「ぜ」 are identical to 「よ」 except that it makes you sound "cool" and manly, or at least, that is the intent.
These examples might not be very helpful without actually hearing what they sound like.

<p>（１）　<span title="もう - already" class="popup">もう</span><span title="じかん - time" class="popup">時間</span>が
<span title="ある - to exist (inanimate)" class="popup">ない</span><em>わ</em>。- There is no more time.
<br />（２）　<span title="おい - hey!" class="popup">おい</span>、<span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行く</span><em>ぞ</em>！- Hey, we're going!
<br />（３）　<span title="これ - this" class="popup">これ</span>で、<span title="もう - already" class="popup">もう</span><span title="おわり - end" class="popup">終わり</span>だ<em>ぜ</em>。- With this, it's over already.
<br />（４）　<span title="いい - good" class="popup">いい</span><span title="だいがく - college" class="popup">大学</span>に<span title="はいる - to enter" class="popup">入れる</span><em>かしら</em>？- I wonder if I can enter a good college.
</p>

<h2 id="part4.wrapup4.html">That's a wrap!</h2>
We learned quite a lot of things in this section.  Let's try to put it all together by seeing how different kinds of conjugations are used in
different combinations.  This is of course by no means an exhaustive list but merely an illustration of how we can use what we learned in
various combinations to create a lot of useful expressions.

<h3>Example 1</h3>
アリス： <span title="かが - Kaga" class="popup">加賀</span><span title="せんせい - teacher" class="popup">先生</span>、
<span title="ちょっと - a little" class="popup">ちょっと</span><span title="しつもん - question" class="popup">質問</span>を<span title="きく - to ask, to hear" class="popup">聞いて</span>も<span title="いい - good" class="popup">いい</span>ですか？
<br /><span title="かが - Kaga" class="popup">加賀</span><span title="せんせい - teacher" class="popup">先生</span>：
<span title="うん - yeah" class="popup">うん</span>、<span title="いい - good" class="popup">いい</span>ですよ。
<br />アリス：　「Hello」を<span title="にほんご - Japanese language" class="popup">日本語</span>で<em><span title="なん - what" class="popup">何</span>と<span title="いう - to say" class="popup">言えば</span></em><span title="いい - good" class="popup">いい</span>ですか。
<br /><span title="なん - what" class="popup">何</span>と<span title="いう - to say" class="popup">言えば</span> = quoted sub-clause + if conditional of <span title="いう - to say" class="popup">言う</span>
<p><span title="かが - Kaga" class="popup">加賀</span><span title="せんせい - teacher" class="popup">先生</span>：
<span title="そう - that's so" class="popup">そう</span>ね。<span title="だいたい - mostly" class="popup">大体</span>、
「<span title="こんにちは - good afternoon" class="popup">こんにちは</span>」<em>と<span title="いう - to say" class="popup">言う</span>と<span title="おもう - to think" class="popup">思います</span></em>よ。
<span title="ただし - however" class="popup">ただし</span>、<span title="かく - to write" class="popup">書く</span><span title="とき - time" class="popup">時</span>
は「<span title="こんにちわ - good afternoon" class="popup">こんにちわ</span>」<em>じゃなくて</em>、
「<span title="こんにちは - good afternoon" class="popup">こんにちは</span>」と<span title="かく - to write" class="popup">書かなくて</span>はなりません。
<br />「と<span title="いう - to say" class="popup">言う</span>と<span title="おもう - to think" class="popup">思います</span>」 = quoted sub-clause + quoted sub-clause
<br />「じゃなくて」 = negative sequence of states</p>
<p>アリス：　<span title="そう - that's so" class="popup">そう</span>ですか。<span title="ほか - other" class="popup">他</span>に<span title="なにか - something" class="popup">何か</span><span title="いい - good" class="popup">いい</span>
<span title="ひょうげん - expression" class="popup">表現</span>は<span title="ある - to exist (inanimate)" class="popup">あります</span>か。</p>
<p><span title="かが - Kaga" class="popup">加賀</span><span title="せんせい - teacher" class="popup">先生</span>：
<span title="これ - this" class="popup">これ</span>も<em><span title="おぼえる - to memorize" class="popup">覚え</span>といて</em>ね。
<span title="あさ - morning" class="popup">朝</span>は、「<span title="おはよう - good morning" class="popup">おはよう</span>」と
<span title="いう - to say" class="popup">言う</span>の。<span title="でも - but" class="popup">でも</span>、
<span title="うえ - above" class="popup">上</span>の<span title="ひと - person" class="popup">人</span>には
「<span title="おはようございます - good morning" class="popup">おはようございます</span>」と<span title="いう - to say" class="popup">言って</span>ください。
<br />「<span title="おぼえる - to memorize" class="popup">覚え</span>といて」 - <span title="おぼえる - to memorize" class="popup">覚える</span> +
abbreviated form of ～ておく + casual ～てください with ください dropped.</p>
<p>アリス：　<span title="はい - yes" class="popup">はい</span>、<span title="わかる - to understand" class="popup">分かりました</span>。
<span title="まちがえる - to make mistake" class="popup">間違えない</span>ように<span title="する - to do" class="popup">します</span>。
<span title="いい - good" class="popup">いい</span><span title="べんきょう - study" class="popup">勉強</span>に<span title="なる - to become" class="popup">なりました</span>！</p>

<h3>Literal translation of Example 1</h3>
Alice: Kaga-sensei, is it ok to ask you a question?
<br />Kaga-sensei: Yes, it's ok.
<br />Alice: If you say what for "hello" in Japanese, is it ok?
<br />Kaga-sensei: Well, mostly, I think people say "konnichiwa". Only, when you write it, you must write "konnichiha" and not "konnichiwa".
<br />Alice: Is that so?  Are there any other good expressions?
<br />Kaga-sensei: Please memorize this too (in preparation for the future).  In the morning, everybody says, "ohayou". But, please say, "ohayou-gozaimasu" to a
higher person.
<br />Alice: Yes, I understood.  I'll do in the manner of not making mistake.  It became good study!

<h3>Interpretative translation of Example 1</h3>
Alice: Kaga-sensei, is it ok to ask you a question?
<br />Kaga-sensei: Sure.
<br />Alice: How do you say "Hello" in Japanese?
<br />Kaga-sensei: Well, most of the time, I think people say "konnichiwa". Only, when you write it, you must write "konnichiha" and not "konnichiwa".
<br />Alice: Is that so?  Are there any other good expressions?
<br />Kaga-sensei: You should know this too.  In the morning, everybody says, "ohayou". But, please say, "ohayou-gozaimsu" to a
higher person.
<br />Alice: Ok, I got it.  I'll try not to make that mistake.  That was very informative!

<h3>Example 2</h3>
<span title="ようすけ - Yousuke" class="popup">洋介</span>：　お！アリスだ。<span title="あの - hey" class="popup">あの</span>ね、<span title="しつもん - question" class="popup">質問</span>を<span title="きく - to ask, to hear" class="popup">聞いて</span>も<span title="いい - good" class="popup">いい</span>？
<br />アリス：　<span title="なに - what" class="popup">何</span>？
<p><span title="ようすけ - Yousuke" class="popup">洋介</span>：　<span title="ちょっと - a little" class="popup">ちょっと</span><span title="えいご - English" class="popup">英語</span>を<em><span title="おしえる - to teach, to inform" class="popup">教えて</span><span title="もらう - to receive" class="popup">もらいたい</span></em>んだけどさ、<span title="もし - by any chance" class="popup">もし</span><span title="じかん - time" class="popup">時間</span>が<span title="ある - to exist (inanimate)" class="popup">あれば</span>、<span title="おしえる - to teach, to inform" class="popup">教えて</span><span title="くれる - to give" class="popup">くれない</span>？
<br />「<span title="おしえる - to teach, to inform" class="popup">教えて</span><span title="もらう - to receive" class="popup">もらいたい</span>」 = receiving favor + to want （たい）</p>
<p>アリス：　え？<span title="えいご - English" class="popup">英語</span>を<span title="べんきょう - study" class="popup">勉強</span><span title="する - to do" class="popup">する</span>の？</p>
<p><span title="ようすけ - Yousuke" class="popup">洋介</span>：　<span title="うん - yeah" class="popup">うん</span>、<span title="アメリカ - America" class="popup">アメリカ</span>で<span title="りゅうがく - study abroad" class="popup">留学</span><em><span title="する - to do" class="popup">して</span>みたいなと<span title="おもう - to think" class="popup">思って</span></em>ね。<span title="きょねん - last year" class="popup">去年</span>も<em><span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行こう</span>と<span title="する - to do" class="popup">した</span></em>けど、<span title="おかね - money" class="popup">お金</span>が<span title="ある - to exist (inanimate)" class="popup">なくて</span>・・・
<br />「<span title="する - to do" class="popup">して</span>みたいなと<span title="おもう - to think" class="popup">思って</span>」 = to try something out （～てみる） + want to （たい） + な gobi + quoted subquote + te-form of <span title="おもう - to think" class="popup">思う</span>
<br />「<span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行こう</span>と<span title="する - to do" class="popup">した</span>」 = volitional of <span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行く</span> + to attempt （と<span title="する - to do" class="popup">する</span>）</p>
アリス：　<span title="そう - that's so" class="popup">そう</span>なの？<span title="いい - good" class="popup">いい</span>よ。<span title="いつ - when" class="popup">いつ</span><span title="おしえる - to teach, to inform" class="popup">教えて</span><span title="ほしい - wanted, desirable" class="popup">ほしい</span>の？
<br /><span title="ようすけ - Yousuke" class="popup">洋介</span>：　<span title="いつ - when" class="popup">いつ</span>でも<span title="いい - good" class="popup">いい</span>よ。
<br />アリス：　じゃ、<span title="らいしゅう - next week" class="popup">来週</span>の<span title="もくようび - thursday" class="popup">木曜日</span>からは<span title="どう - how" class="popup">どう</span>？
<br /><span title="ようすけ - Yousuke" class="popup">洋介</span>：　<span title="うん - yeah" class="popup">うん</span>、<span title="いい - good" class="popup">いい</span>よ。<span title="ありがとう - thanks" class="popup">ありがとう</span>！
<p>アリス：　<span title="べんきょう - study" class="popup">勉強</span>を<em><span title="なまける - to neglect, to be lazy about" class="popup">怠けた</span>り、<span title="くる - to come" class="popup">来なかった</span>り、<span title="する - to do" class="popup">しない</span>で</em>ね。
<br />「<span title="なまける - to neglect, to be lazy about" class="popup">怠けた</span>り<span title="くる - to come" class="popup">来なかった</span>り<span title="する - to do" class="popup">しない</span>で」 = List of actions （～たり<span title="する - to do" class="popup">する</span>） + negative request of <span title="する - to do" class="popup">する</span>.</p>
<p><span title="ようすけ - Yousuke" class="popup">洋介</span>：　<span title="そんな - that kind of thing" class="popup">そんな</span><span title="こと - event or matter" class="popup">こと</span><span title="する - to do" class="popup">しない</span>よ！</p>

<h3>Literal translation of Example 2</h3>
Yousuke: Oh! It's Alice.  Hey, is it ok to ask a question?
<br />Alice: What?
<br />Yousuke: I want to receive the favor of you teaching English and if, by any chance, you have time, will you give the favor of teaching?
<br />Alice: Huh?  You are going to study English?
<br />Yousuke: Yeah, I was thinking that I want to try studying abroad in America.  I tried to make motion toward going last year too but, without money...
<br />Alice: Is that so?  It's good.  When do you want me to teach you?
<br />Yousuke: Anytime is good.
<br />Alice: Then what about from next week Thursday?
<br />Yousuke: Yeah, ok.  Thanks!
<br />Alice: Don't do things like shirk on your studies or not come, ok?
<br />Yousuke: I won't do anything like that!

<h3>Interpretative translation of Example 2</h3>
Yousuke: Oh! It's Alice.  Hey, can I ask you a question?
<br />Alice: What up?
<br />Yousuke: I want to learn English so if you have time, can you teach me?
<br />Alice: Huh?  You're going to study English?
<br />Yousuke: Yeah, I was thinking about studying abroad in America.  I tried going last year too but I didn't have the money.
<br />Alice: Really?  No problem.  When do you want me to teach you?
<br />Yousuke: Anytime is fine.
<br />Alice: What about from next week Thursday then?
<br />Yousuke: OK, thanks!
<br />Alice: You're not going to shirk on your studies or not come or anything right?
<br />Yousuke: I won't do anything like that!

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<br class="break"/>
<h1>Ahh, the gritty bits!</h1>

<br /><br />

<h2>Special Expressions</h2>
I have decided to call this next section "Special Expressions" only because with the exception of the first few lessons, most of the grammar
here applies to more specific areas than the grammar we have covered so far.
These special expressions, while individually not vital, are, as a collection, necessary for regular everyday conversations.  We
are slowly entering the stage where we've built the toolbox and we now need to acquire the little tools that will make the toolbox complete.
Now that we covered most of the base, it is time to look at all the little itty gritty bits.
You are welcome to skip around the lessons, however; the examples will assume that you have gone over all previous sections.

<div class="sumbox">
<div class="outtitle">Lessons covered in this section</div>
<ul>
  <li><a href="causepass.html">Causative and Passive Verbs</a> -
The last major type of verb conjugation, we'll learn how to create passive, causative, and the common
causative-passive combination.</li>
  <li><a href="honorhum.html">Honorific and Humble Forms</a> - Learn even politer expressions with honorific and humble forms.</li>
  <li><a href="unintended.html">Things that happen unintentionally</a> - Learn how to express things that happen by accident.</li>
  <li><a href="genericnoun.html">Special expressions with generic nouns</a> - Some special expressions using 「こと」 and 「ところ」.</li>
  <li><a href="certainty.html">Expressing various levels of certainty</a> - Various ways to express different levels of certainty.</li>
  <li><a href="amount.html">Expressing amounts</a> - Different ways to express amounts.</li>
  <li><a href="similar.html">Various ways to express similarity and hearsay</a> - Various ways to express things that you heard.</li>
  <li><a href="compare.html">Various uses of 方 and よる</a> - Various ways to use 「方」 and 「よる」 especially for comparisons.</li>
  <li><a href="easyhard.html">Saying something is easy or difficult to do</a> - Useful ways to conjugate verbs to mean that it's easy or hard to do.</li>
  <li><a href="negverb2.html">More negative verbs</a> - Some less common but nonetheless useful negative forms of verbs.</li>
  <li><a href="reasoning.html">Hypothesizing and Concluding</a> - Express hypothetical situations and reach conclusions based on certain data.</li>
  <li><a href="timeaction2.html">Expressing time-specific actions</a> - Various grammar that describes the time-frame or rate of frequency of verbs.</li>
  <li><a href="nochange.html">Leaving something the way it is</a> - How to express not making changes to a state.</li>
</ul>
</div>

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</div>

<br class="break"/>
<h1>Cause to be Passive</h1>

<br /><br /><br />

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
<tr><td>
<div class="outline">
<!-- outline menu -->
<center><span class="summary">Outline</span></center>
<ol>
<li><a href="#part1.causepass.html">Causative and Passive Verbs</a></li>
<li><a href="#part2.causepass.html">Causative Verbs</a></li>
<li><a href="#part3.causepass.html">Passive Verbs</a></li>
<li><a href="#part4.causepass.html">Using passive form to show politeness</a></li>
<li><a href="#part5.causepass.html">Causative-Passive Forms</a></li>
</ol>
</div>
</td></tr>
</table>

<h2 id="part1.causepass.html">Causative and Passive Verbs</h2>
We will now learn the last two major types of verb conjugations: causative and passive forms.  While there are many reason to put this in the
Essential Grammar section, I have decided to put it as the first lesson of this section because: 1) The essential grammar section
was getting really big, 2)
Causative and passive forms are not as commonly used as other verb forms.  These two verb conjugations are traditionally covered together
because of the notorious causative-passive combination.  We will now go over what all these things are and how they are used.

<h2 id="part2.causepass.html">Causative Verbs</h2>
Verbs conjugated into the causative form are used to indicate an action that someone makes happen.  Like Captain Picard so succinctly puts it,
the causative verb means to "make it so".  This verb is usually used in the context of making somebody do something.  The really confusing thing
about the causative verb is that it can also mean to <i>let</i> someone do something.  Or maybe this is a different type of verb with the exact same
conjugation rules.  Whichever the case may be, a verb in the causative form can mean either making or letting someone do
something.  The only good news is that when the causative form is used with 「<span title="あげる - to give, to raise" class="popup">あげる</span>」
and 「<span title="くれる - to give" class="popup">くれる</span>」, it almost always means to
"let someone do". Once you get used to it, surprisingly, it becomes quite clear which meaning is being used when.

<p>（１）　<span title="ぜんぶ - all" class="popup">全部</span><em><span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べさせた</span></em>。- <em>Made/Let</em> (someone) eat it all.
<br />（２）　<span title="ぜんぶ - all" class="popup">全部</span><em><span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べさせて</span><span title="くれる - to give" class="popup">くれた</span></em>。- <em>Let </em>(someone) eat it all.
</p>




<div class="sumbox">
<span class="summary">Causative Conjugation Rules</span>
<br />Here are the conjugation rules for the causative form.  All causative verbs become ru-verbs.
<ul>
<li><b>ru-verbs</b> - Remove the 「る」 and add 「させる」.</li>
<li><b>u-verbs</b> - Change the last character as you would for <a href="negverb.html#part2.causepass.html">negative verbs</a> but attach 「せる」
instead of 「ない」.</li>
<li><b>Exception Verbs</b> - 「<span title="する - to do" class="popup">する</span>」 becomes 「<span title="する - to do" class="popup">させる</span>」 and 「<span title="くる - to come" class="popup">くる</span>」 becomes 「<span title="くる - to come" class="popup">こさせる</span>」.</li>
</ul>
</div>

<center>
<table border="0">
<tr>
<td>
<table border="1" cellpadding="5">
<caption>Sample ru-verbs</caption>
<tr align="center"><th>Plain</th><th>Causative</th></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べ<em>る</em></span></td><td><span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べ<em>させる</em></span></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="きる - to wear" class="popup">着<em>る</em></span></td><td><span title="きる - to wear" class="popup">着<em>させる</em></span></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="しんじる - to believe" class="popup">信じ<em>る</em></span></td><td><span title="しんじる - to believe" class="popup">信じ<em>させる</em></span></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="ねる - to sleep" class="popup">寝<em>る</em></span></td><td><span title="ねる - to sleep" class="popup">寝<em>させる</em></span></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="おきる - to get up" class="popup">起き<em>る</em></span></td><td><span title="おきる - to get up" class="popup">起き<em>させる</em></span></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="でる - to come out" class="popup">出<em>る</em></span></td><td><span title="でる - to come out" class="popup">出<em>させる</em></span></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="かける - to hang" class="popup">掛け<em>る</em></span></td><td><span title="かける - to hang" class="popup">掛け<em>させる</em></span></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="すてる - to throw away" class="popup">捨て<em>る</em></span></td><td><span title="すてる - to throw away" class="popup">捨て<em>させる</em></span></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="しらべる - to investigate" class="popup">調べ<em>る</em></span></td><td><span title="しらべる - to investigate" class="popup">調べ<em>させる</em></span></td></tr>

</table>
</td>

<td rowspan="2">
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
</td>

<td>
<table border="1" cellpadding="5">
<caption>Sample u-verbs</caption>
<tr align="center"><th>Plain</th><th>Causative</th>
<th>ローマ字</th><th>ローマ字 (Caus.)</th></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="はなす - to speak" class="popup">話<em>す</em></span></td><td><span title="はなす - to speak" class="popup">話<em>させる</em></span></td>
<td>hanas<em>u</em></td><td>hanas<em>aseru</em></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="きく - to hear, to ask" class="popup">聞<em>く</em></span></td><td><span title="きく - to hear, to ask" class="popup">聞<em>かせる</em></span></td>
<td>kik<em>u</em></td><td>kik<em>aseru</em></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="およぐ - to swim" class="popup">泳<em>ぐ</em></span></td><td><span title="およぐ - to swim" class="popup">泳<em>がせる</em></span></td>
<td>oyog<em>u</em></td><td>oyog<em>aseru</em></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="あそぶ - to play" class="popup">遊<em>ぶ</em></span></td><td><span title="あそぶ - to play" class="popup">遊<em>ばせる</em></span></td>
<td>asob<em>u</em></td><td>asob<em>aseru</em></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="まつ - to wait" class="popup">待<em>つ</em></span></td><td><span title="まつ - to wait" class="popup">待<em>たせる</em></span></td>
<td>mat<em>u</em></td><td>mat<em>aseru</em></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="のむ - to drink" class="popup">飲<em>む</em></span></td><td><span title="のむ - to drink" class="popup">飲<em>ませる</em></span></td>
<td>nom<em>u</em></td><td>nom<em>aseru</em></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="なおる - to be fixed" class="popup">直<em>る</em></span></td><td><span title="なおる - to be fixed" class="popup">直<em>らせる</em></span></td>
<td>naor<em>u</em></td><td>naor<em>aseru</em></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="しぬ - to die" class="popup">死<em>ぬ</em></span></td><td><span title="しぬ - to die" class="popup">死<em>なせる</em></span></td>
<td>shin<em>u</em></td><td>shin<em>aseru</em></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="かう - to buy" class="popup">買<em>う</em></span></td><td><span title="かう - to buy" class="popup">買<em><u></u>わせる</em></span></td>
<td>ka<em>u</em></td><td>ka<em>waseru</em></td></tr>
</table>
</td>

<td rowspan="2">
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
</td>

<td valign="top">
<table border="1" cellpadding="5">
<caption>Exception Verbs</caption>
<tr align="center"><th>Positive</th><th>Causative</th></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="する - to do" class="popup">する</span></td><td><span title="する - to do" class="popup">させる</span></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="くる - to come" class="popup">くる</span></td><td><span title="くる - to come" class="popup">こさせる</span></td></tr>

</table>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</center>

<h3>Examples</h3>
Here are some examples using the causative verb.  Context will usually tell you which is being meant, but for our purposes
we will assume that when the verb is used with 「<span title="あげる - to give, to raise" class="popup">あげる</span>」 and 「<span title="くれる - to give" class="popup">くれる</span>」（<span title="ください - please give, please do" class="popup">ください</span>） it means "to <u>let</u> someone do"
while it means, "to <u>make</u> someone do" when used without it.

<p>
（１）　<span title="せんせい - teacher" class="popup">先生</span>が<span title="がくせい - student" class="popup">学生</span>に<span title="しゅくだい - homework" class="popup">宿題</span>を<span title="たくさん - a lot" class="popup">たくさん</span><em><span title="する - to do" class="popup">させた</span></em>。
<br />- Teacher made students do lots of homework.
</p>

<p>
（２）　<span title="せんせい - teacher" class="popup">先生</span>が<span title="しつもん - question" class="popup">質問</span>を<span title="たくさん - a lot" class="popup">たくさん</span><em><span title="きく - to hear, to ask" class="popup">聞かせて</span><span title="くれる - to give" class="popup">くれた</span></em>。
<br />- Teacher let [someone] ask lots of questions.
</p>

<p>
（３）　<span title="きょう - today" class="popup">今日</span>は<span title="しごと - work" class="popup">仕事</span>を<em><span title="やすむ - to rest" class="popup">休ませて</span><span title="ください - please give, please do" class="popup">ください</span></em>。
<br />- Please let me rest from work today. (Please let me take the day off today.)
</p>
<p>
（４）　<span title="その - that" class="popup">その</span><span title="ぶちょう - section manager" class="popup">部長</span>は、<span title="いい - good" class="popup">よく</span><span title="ちょうじかん - long period of time" class="popup">長時間</span><em><span title="はたらく - to work" class="popup">働かせる</span></em>。
<br />- That manager often make [people] work long hours.
</p>

<p>When asking for permission to let someone do something, it is more common to use the <a href="haveto.html#part5.causepass.html">「～ても<span title="いい - good" class="popup">いい</span>」 grammar</a>.
</p>

<p>
（１）　<span title="トイレ - bathroom" class="popup">トイレ</span>に<em><span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行かせて</span><span title="くれる - to give" class="popup">くれます</span></em>か。
<br />- Can you let me go to the bathroom? (Sounds like a prisoner, even in English)
</p>

<p>
（２）　<span title="トイレ - bathroom" class="popup">トイレ</span>に<em><span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行って</span>も<span title="いい - good" class="popup">いい</span></em>ですか。
<br />- Is it ok to go to the bathroom? (No problem here)
</p>


<h3>A Shorter Alternative</h3>
There is a shorter version of the causative conjugation, which I will go over for completeness. However, since this version is mostly used in very rough slang,
you are free to skip this section until you've had time to get used to the regular form. Also, textbooks usually don't cover this version of the causative verb.

<p>
The key difference in this version is that all verbs become an u-verbs with a 「す」 ending. Therefore, the resulting verb would conjugate just like any other u-verb ending
in 「す」 such as 「<span title="はなす - to talk" class="popup">話す</span>」 or 「<span title="さす - to point" class="popup">指す</span>」.
The first part of the conjugation is the same as the original causative form. However, for ru-verbs,  instead of attaching 「させる」, you attach 「さす」 and for u-verbs,
you attach 「す」 instead of 「せる」. As a result, all the verbs become an u-verb ending in 「す」.
</p>

<div class="sumbox">
<span class="summary">Shortened Causative Form</span>
<ul>
<li>This form is rarely used so you may just want to stick with the more traditional version of the causative form.
<ul>
<li><b>ru-verbs</b> - Remove the 「る」 and add 「さす」.
<ul><li>例）　<span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べ<em><strike>る</strike></em></span> → <span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べ<em>さす</em></span></li></ul></li>
<li><b>u-verbs</b> - Change the last character as you would for <a href="negverb.html#part2.causepass.html">negative verbs</a> but attach 「す」 instead of 「ない」.
<ul><li>例）　<span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行<em><strike>く</strike></em></span> → <span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行<em>か</em></span> → <span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行か<em>す</em></span></li></ul></li>
<li><b>Exception Verbs</b> - 「<span title="する - to do" class="popup">する</span>」 becomes 「<span title="する - to do" class="popup">さす</span>」 and 「<span title="くる - to come" class="popup">くる</span>」 becomes 「<span title="くる - to come" class="popup">こさす</span>」.</li>
</ul>
</li>

</ul>
</div>


<h3>Examples</h3>
<p>（１）　<span title="おなじ - same" class="popup">同じ</span><span title="こと - event, matter" class="popup">こと</span>を<span title="なんかい - number of times" class="popup">何回</span>も<em><span title="いう - to say" class="popup">言わす</span>な</em>！
<br />- Don't make me say the same thing again and again!
</p>
<p>
（２）　<span title="おなか - stomach" class="popup">お腹</span><span title="あく - to become empty" class="popup">空いている</span>んだから、<span title="なんか - something" class="popup">なんか</span><em><span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べさして</span></em><span title="くれる - to give" class="popup">くれ</span>よ。
<br />- I'm hungry so let me eat something.
</p>

<h2 id="part3.causepass.html">Passive Verbs</h2>
Passive verbs are verbs that are done to the (passive) subject.  Unlike English style of writing which discourages the use of the passive form, passive
verbs in Japanese are often used in essays and articles.

<div class="sumbox">
<span class="summary">Passive Conjugation Rules</span>
<br />For once, the conjugations rules are same for both ru-verbs and u-verbs. All passive verbs become ru-verbs.
<ul>
<li><b>ru-verbs and u-verbs</b> - Change the last character from an / u / vowel sound to an / a / vowel sound and add 「れる」.
</li>
<li><b>Exception Verbs</b> - 「<span title="する - to do" class="popup">する</span>」 becomes 「<span title="する - to do" class="popup">される</span>」 and 「<span title="くる - to come" class="popup">くる</span>」 becomes 「<span title="くる - to come" class="popup">こられる</span>」.</li>
</ul>
</div>

<p />
<center>
<table border="0">
<tr>
<td>
<table border="1" cellpadding="5">
<caption>Sample ru-verbs</caption>
<tr align="center"><th>Plain</th><th>Passive</th></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べ<em>る</em></span></td><td><span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べ<em>られる</em></span></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="きる - to wear" class="popup">着<em>る</em></span></td><td><span title="きる - to wear" class="popup">着<em>られる</em></span></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="しんじる - to believe" class="popup">信じ<em>る</em></span></td><td><span title="しんじる - to believe" class="popup">信じ<em>られる</em></span></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="ねる - to sleep" class="popup">寝<em>る</em></span></td><td><span title="ねる - to sleep" class="popup">寝<em>られる</em></span></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="おきる - to get up" class="popup">起き<em>る</em></span></td><td><span title="おきる - to get up" class="popup">起き<em>られる</em></span></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="でる - to come out" class="popup">出<em>る</em></span></td><td><span title="でる - to come out" class="popup">出<em>られる</em></span></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="かける - to hang" class="popup">掛け<em>る</em></span></td><td><span title="かける - to hang" class="popup">掛け<em>られる</em></span></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="すてる - to throw away" class="popup">捨て<em>る</em></span></td><td><span title="すてる - to throw away" class="popup">捨て<em>られる</em></span></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="しらべる - to investigate" class="popup">調べ<em>る</em></span></td><td><span title="しらべる - to investigate" class="popup">調べ<em>られる</em></span></td></tr>

</table>
</td>

<td rowspan="2">
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
</td>

<td>
<table border="1" cellpadding="5">
<caption>Sample u-verbs</caption>
<tr align="center"><th>Plain</th><th>Passive</th>
<th>ローマ字</th><th>ローマ字 (Pass.)</th></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="はなす - to speak" class="popup">話<em>す</em></span></td><td><span title="はなす - to speak" class="popup">話<em>される</em></span></td>
<td>hanas<em>u</em></td><td>hanas<em>areru</em></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="きく - to hear, to ask" class="popup">聞<em>く</em></span></td><td><span title="きく - to hear, to ask" class="popup">聞<em>かれる</em></span></td>
<td>kik<em>u</em></td><td>kik<em>areru</em></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="およぐ - to swim" class="popup">泳<em>ぐ</em></span></td><td><span title="およぐ - to swim" class="popup">泳<em>がれる</em></span></td>
<td>oyog<em>u</em></td><td>oyog<em>areru</em></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="あそぶ - to play" class="popup">遊<em>ぶ</em></span></td><td><span title="あそぶ - to play" class="popup">遊<em>ばれる</em></span></td>
<td>asob<em>u</em></td><td>asob<em>areru</em></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="まつ - to wait" class="popup">待<em>つ</em></span></td><td><span title="まつ - to wait" class="popup">待<em>たれる</em></span></td>
<td>mat<em>u</em></td><td>mat<em>areru</em></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="のむ - to drink" class="popup">飲<em>む</em></span></td><td><span title="のむ - to drink" class="popup">飲<em>まれる</em></span></td>
<td>nom<em>u</em></td><td>nom<em>areru</em></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="なおる - to be fixed" class="popup">直<em>る</em></span></td><td><span title="なおる - to be fixed" class="popup">直<em>られる</em></span></td>
<td>naor<em>u</em></td><td>naor<em>areru</em></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="しぬ - to die" class="popup">死<em>ぬ</em></span></td><td><span title="しぬ - to die" class="popup">死<em>なれる</em></span></td>
<td>shin<em>u</em></td><td>shin<em>areru</em></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="かう - to buy" class="popup">買<em>う</em></span></td><td><span title="かう - to buy" class="popup">買<em><u></u>われる</em></span></td>
<td>ka<em>u</em></td><td>ka<em>wareru</em></td></tr>
</table>
</td>

<td rowspan="2">
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
</td>


<td valign="top">
<table border="1" cellpadding="5">
<caption>Exception Verbs</caption>
<tr align="center"><th>Positive</th><th>Passive</th></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="する - to do" class="popup">する</span></td><td><span title="する - to do" class="popup">される</span></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="くる - to come" class="popup">くる</span></td><td><span title="くる - to come" class="popup">こられる</span></td></tr>

</table>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</center>


<h3>Examples</h3>

<p>（１）　<span title="ポリッジ - porridge" class="popup">ポリッジ</span>が<span title="だれか - somebody" class="popup">誰か</span>に<em><span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べられた</span></em>！
<br />- The porridge was eaten by somebody!
</p>

<p>（２）　<span title="みんな - everybody" class="popup">みんな</span>に<span title="へん - strange" class="popup">変</span>だと<em><span title="いう - to say" class="popup">言われます</span></em>。
<br />- I am told by everybody that [I'm] strange.
</p>

<p>（３）　<span title="ひかり - light" class="popup">光</span>の<span title="はやさ - speed" class="popup">速さ</span>を<span title="こえる - to exceed" class="popup">超える</span>のは、<span title="ふかのう - impossible" class="popup">不可能</span>だと<em><span title="おもう - to think" class="popup">思われる</span></em>。
<br />- Exceeding the speed of light is thought to be impossible.
</p>

<p>（４）　<span title="この - this" class="popup">この</span><span title="きょうかしょ - textbook" class="popup">教科書</span>は<span title="おおく - many, large number" class="popup">多く</span>の<span title="ひと - person" class="popup">人</span>に<em><span title="よむ - to read" class="popup">読まれている</span></em>。
<br />- This textbook is being read by a large number of people.
</p>

<p>（５）　<span title="がいこくじん - foreigner" class="popup">外国人</span>に<span title="しつもん - question" class="popup">質問</span>を<em><span title="きく - to hear, to ask" class="popup">聞かれた</span></em>が、<span title="こたえる - to answer" class="popup">答えられなかった</span>。
<br />- I was asked a question by a foreigner but I couldn't answer.
</p>

<p>（６）　<span title="この - this" class="popup">この</span><span title="パッケージ - package" class="popup">パッケージ</span>には、<span title="あらゆる - all" class="popup">あらゆる</span><span title="もの - object" class="popup">ものが</span><em><span title="ふくむ - to include" class="popup">含まれている</span>。</em>
<br />- Everything is included in this package.
</p>

<h2 id="part4.causepass.html">Using passive form to show politeness</h2>
While we will go over various types of grammar that express a politeness level above the normal -masu/-desu forms in the next lesson,
it is useful to know that using passive form is another more polite way to express an action.  In Japanese, a sentence is usually more polite when
it is less direct.  For example, it is more polite to refer to someone by his or her name and not by the direct pronoun "you".  It is also more polite to ask
a negative question than a positive one.  (For example, 「しますか？」 vs. 「 しませんか？」)  In a similar sense, using the passive form makes
the sentence less direct because the subject does not directly perform the action.  This makes it sound more polite.
Here is the same sentence in increasing degrees of politeness.

<p>（１）　<span title="どう - how" class="popup">どう</span><em><span title="する - to do" class="popup">する</span></em>？- What will you do? (lit: How do?)
<br />（２）　<span title="どう - how" class="popup">どう</span><em><span title="する - to do" class="popup">します</span>か</em>？ - Regular polite.
<br />（３）　<span title="どう - how" class="popup">どう</span><em><span title="する - to do" class="popup">されます</span>か</em>？- Passive polite.
<br />（４）　<span title="どう - how" class="popup">どう</span><em><span title="する - to do" class="popup">なさいます</span>か</em>？- Honorific (to be covered next lesson)
<br />（５）　<span title="どう - how" class="popup">どう</span><em><span title="する - to do" class="popup">なさいます</span>でしょうか</em>？- Honorific + a lesser degree of certainty.
<br />Notice how the same sentence grows longer and longer as you get more and more indirect.
</p>

<h3>Examples</h3>
<p>
（１）　<span title="レシート - receipt" class="popup">レシート</span>は<span title="どう - how" class="popup">どう</span><em><span title="する - to do" class="popup">されます</span></em>か？
<br />- What about your receipt? (lit: How will you do receipt?)
</p>
<p>
（２）　<span title="あした - tomorrow" class="popup">明日</span>の<span title="かいぎ - meeting" class="popup">会議</span>に<em><span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行かれる</span></em>んですか？
<br />- Are you going to tomorrow's meeting?
</p>

<h2 id="part5.causepass.html">Causative-Passive Forms</h2>
The causative-passive form is simply the combination of causative and passive conjugations to mean that the action of making someone do
something was done to that person.  This would effectively translate into, "[someone] is made to do [something]".
The important thing to remember is the order of conjugation.  The verb is first conjugated to the causative
and then passive, never the other way around.

<div class="sumbox">
<span class="summary">Causative-Passive Conjugation Form</span>
<ul>
<li>The causative-passive verb is formed by first conjugating to the causative form and then by conjugating the result to the passive form.
<br />例）　<span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べ<em><strike>る</strike></em></span> → <span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べ<em>させ<strike>る</strike></em></span> → <span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べさせ<em>られる</em></span>
<br />例）　<span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行<em><strike>く</strike></em></span> → <span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行<em>かせ<strike>る</strike></em></span> → <span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行かせ<em>られる</em></span>
</li>

</ul>
</div>

<h3>Examples</h3>
<p>（１）　<span title="あさごはん - breakfast" class="popup">朝ご飯</span>は<span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べたくなかった</span>のに、<em><span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べさせられた</span></em>。
<br />- Despite not wanting to eat breakfast, I <em>was made to eat</em> it.
</p>
<p>
（２）　<span title="にほん - Japan" class="popup">日本</span>では、<span title="おさけ - alcohol" class="popup">お酒</span>を<em><span title="のむ - to drink" class="popup">飲ませられる</span></em><span title="こと - event, matter" class="popup">こと</span>が<span title="おおい - many" class="popup">多い</span>。
<br />- In Japan, the event of <em>being made to drink</em> is numerous.
</p>
<p>
（３）　<span title="あいつ - that guy (colloquial)" class="popup">あいつ</span>に<span title="にじかん - two hours" class="popup">二時間</span>も<em><span title="まつ - to wait" class="popup">待たせられた</span></em>。
<br />- I <em>was made to wait</em> 2 hours by that guy.
</p>
<p>（４）　<span title="おや - parent(s)" class="popup">親</span>に<span title="まいにち - every day" class="popup">毎日</span><span title="しゅくだい - homework" class="popup">宿題</span>を<em><span title="する - to do" class="popup">させられる</span></em>。
<br />- I <em>am made to do homework</em> everyday by my parent(s).
</p>

<h3>A Shorter Alternative</h3>
Going along with the shorter causative alternative, you can also use the same conjugation for the causative-passive form. I won't cover it in too much detail because
the usefulness of this form is rather limited just like the shorter causative form itself.
The idea is to simply used the shortened causative form instead of using the regular causative conjugation. The rest is the same as before. This form is normally used with only a limited
set of verbs so here are a few examples to show you what this form looks like.

<div class="sumbox">
<span class="summary">Shortened causative-passive form examples</span>
<ul>
<li>First conjugate to the shortened causative form. Then conjugate to the passive form.
<br />例）　<span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行<em><strike>く</strike></em></span> → <span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行<em>か</em></span> → <span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行か<em>す</em></span> → <span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行か<em>された</em></span>
<br />例）　<span title="たつ - to stand" class="popup">立<em><strike>つ</strike></em></span> → <span title="たつ - to stand" class="popup">立<em>た</em></span> → <span title="たつ - to stand" class="popup">立た<em>す</em></span> → <span title="たつ - to stand" class="popup">立た<em>された</em></span>
</li>

</ul>
</div>


<h3>Examples</h3>
<p>（１）　<span title="がくせい - student" class="popup">学生</span>が<span title="ろうか - hall, corridor" class="popup">廊下</span>に<em><span title="たつ - to stand" class="popup">立たされた</span></em>。
<br />- The student <em>was made to stand</em> in the hall.
</p>
<p>
（２）　<span title="にほん - Japan" class="popup">日本</span>では、<span title="おさけ - alcohol" class="popup">お酒</span>を<em><span title="のむ - to drink" class="popup">飲まされる</span></em><span title="こと - event, matter" class="popup">こと</span>が<span title="おおい - many" class="popup">多い</span>。
<br />- In Japan, the event of <em>being made to drink</em> is numerous.
</p>
<p>
（３）　<span title="あいつ - that guy (colloquial)" class="popup">あいつ</span>に<span title="にじかん - two hours" class="popup">二時間</span>も<em><span title="まつ - to wait" class="popup">待たされた</span></em>。
<br />- I <em>was made to wait</em> 2 hours by that guy.
</p>

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<p class="copyright">Copyright &copy; 2003-2007 Tae Kim (taekim.japanese AT gmail.com)</p>
<p>
<a href="http://www.guidetojapanese.org/forum/viewforum.php?id=18">Report a correction or suggestion for this page</a>
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<div class="small" style="text-align:right;"><pre>This page has last been revised on 2006/1/28
Minor typos and conjugation example （食べさせられる） fixed (2005/3/31)
Added shorter causative alternative for completeness (2006/1/28)
</pre>
</div>

<br class="break"/>
<h1>I am humbled, your honor</h1>

<br /><br /><br />

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
<tr><td>
<div class="outline">
<!-- outline menu -->
<center><span class="summary">Outline</span></center>
<ol>
<li><a href="#part1.honorhum.html">Honorific and Humble Forms</a></li>
<li><a href="#part2.honorhum.html">Set Expressions</a></li>
<li><a href="#part3.honorhum.html">Other Substitutions</a></li>
<li><a href="#part4.honorhum.html">Honorific and Humble Conjugations</a></li>
<li><a href="#part5.honorhum.html">Making honorific requests</a></li>
</ol>
</div>
</td></tr>
</table>


<h2 id="part1.honorhum.html">Honorific and Humble Forms</h2>
Japanese can be roughly separated into three levels of politeness: casual, polite, and honorific/humble.  So far, we have already gone over the polite
forms using 「～です」 and 「～ます」.  We will now cover the next level of politeness using honorific and humble forms.  You will often hear this type of
language in any customer/consumer type situations such as fast food counters, restaurants, etc. For now, the first thing to remember
is that the speaker always considers himself/herself to be at the lowest level.  So any actions performed by oneself are in humble form while
actions performed by anyone else seen from the view of the speaker uses the honorific form.

<h2 id="part2.honorhum.html">Set Expressions</h2>
The difficult part of learning honorific and humble language is that there are a number of words that have separate verbs for honorific and humble
forms.  Anything that does
not have it's own special expression fall under the general rules of humble and honorific conjugations that we will cover next.

<p />
<center>
<table border="1" cellpadding="5">
<caption>Honorific and Humble Verbs</caption>
<tr align="center"><th>Plain</th><th>Honorific</th><th>Humble</th></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="する - to do" class="popup">する</span></td><td><span title="なさる (hon.) - to do" class="popup">なさる</span></td><td><span title="いたす (hum.) - to do" class="popup">致す</span></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行く</span></td><td><span title="いらっしゃる (hon.) - to go, to come, to exist (animate)" class="popup">いらっしゃる</span>／<span title="おいでになる (hon.) - to go, to come, to exist (animate)" class="popup">おいでになる</span></td><td><span title="まいる (hum.) - to go, to come" class="popup">参る</span></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="くる - to come" class="popup">来る</span></td><td><span title="いらっしゃる (hon.) - to go, to come, to exist (animate)" class="popup">いらっしゃる</span>／<span title="おいでになる (hon.) - to go, to come, to exist (animate)" class="popup">おいでになる</span></td><td><span title="まいる (hum.) - to go, to come" class="popup">参る</span></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="いる - to exist (animate)" class="popup">いる</span></td><td><span title="いらっしゃる (hon.) - to go, to come, to exist (animate)" class="popup">いらっしゃる</span>／<span title="おいでになる (hon.) - to go, to come, to exist (animate)" class="popup">おいでになる</span></td><td><span title="おる (hum.) - to exist (animate)" class="popup">おる</span></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="みる - to see" class="popup">見る</span></td><td><span title="ごらん (hon.) - seeing" class="popup">ご覧</span>に<span title="なる - to become" class="popup">なる</span></td><td><span title="はいけん (hum.) - seeing" class="popup">拝見</span><span title="する - to do" class="popup">する</span></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="きく - to ask, to hear" class="popup">聞く</span></td><td>－</td><td><span title="うかがう (hum.) - to ask, to enquire, to hear" class="popup">伺う</span></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="いう - to say" class="popup">言う</span></td><td><span title="おっしゃる (hon.) - to say" class="popup">おっしゃる</span></td><td><span title="もうす (hum.) - to say" class="popup">申す</span>／<span title="もうしあげる (hum.) - to say" class="popup">申し上げる</span></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="あげる - to give, to raise" class="popup">あげる</span></td><td>－</td><td><span title="さしあげる - to give, to offer" class="popup">差し上げる</span></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="くれる - to give" class="popup">くれる</span></td><td><span title="くださる (hon.) - to give" class="popup">下さる</span></td><td>－</td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="もらう - to receive" class="popup">もらう</span></td><td>－</td><td><span title="いただく - to receive" class="popup">いただく</span></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べる</span></td><td><span title="めしあがる (hon.) - to eat" class="popup">召し上がる</span></td><td>－</td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="しる - to know" class="popup">知っている</span></td><td><span title="ごぞんじ (hon.) - knowing" class="popup">ご存知</span>（です）</td><td><span title="ぞんじる (hum.) - to know" class="popup">存じる</span></td></tr>

</table>
</center>

<h3>Honorific verbs with special conjugations</h3>
A number of these verbs <u>do not</u> follow the normal masu-conjugation rules and they include: 「<span title="なさる (hon.) - to do" class="popup">なさる</span>」、「<span title="いらっしゃる (hon.) - to go, to come, to exist (animate)" class="popup">いらっしゃる</span>」、「<span title="おっしゃる (hon.) - to say" class="popup">おっしゃる</span>」、「<span title="くださる (hon.) - to give" class="popup">下さる</span>」、 and 「<span title="ござる (formal) - to exist (inanimate)" class="popup">ござる</span>」 (which we will soon cover).
For all  masu-form tenses of these verbs, instead of the 「る」 becoming a 「り」 as it does with normal u-verbs, it instead becomes an 「い」.
All other conjugations besides the masu-form do not change from regular u-verbs.
<p />
<center>
<table border="1" cellpadding="5">
<caption>ます-conjugations</caption>
<tr align="center"><th>Plain</th><th>ます-form</th><th>Past ます-form</th><th>Negative ます-form</th><th>Past-negative ます-form</th></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="なさる (hon.) - to do" class="popup">なさる</span></td><td><span title="なさる (hon.) - to do" class="popup">なさ<em>い</em>ます</span></td><td><span title="なさる (hon.) - to do" class="popup">なさ<em>い</em>ました</span></td><td><span title="なさる (hon.) - to do" class="popup">なさ<em>い</em>ません</span></td><td><span title="なさる (hon.) - to do" class="popup">なさ<em>い</em>ませんでした</span></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="いらっしゃる (hon.) - to go, to come, to exist (animate)" class="popup">いらっしゃる</span></td><td><span title="いらっしゃる (hon.) - to go, to come, to exist (animate)" class="popup">いらっしゃ<em>い</em>ます</span></td><td><span title="いらっしゃる (hon.) - to go, to come, to exist (animate)" class="popup">いらっしゃ<em>い</em>ました</span></td><td><span title="いらっしゃる (hon.) - to go, to come, to exist (animate)" class="popup">いらっしゃ<em>い</em>ません</span></td><td><span title="いらっしゃる (hon.) - to go, to come, to exist (animate)" class="popup">いらっしゃ<em>い</em>ませんでした</span></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="おっしゃる (hon.) - to say" class="popup">おっしゃる</span></td><td><span title="おっしゃる (hon.) - to say" class="popup">おっしゃ<em>い</em>ます</span></td><td><span title="おっしゃる (hon.) - to say" class="popup">おっしゃ<em>い</em>ました</span></td><td><span title="おっしゃる (hon.) - to say" class="popup">おっしゃ<em>い</em>ません</span></td><td><span title="おっしゃる (hon.) - to say" class="popup">おっしゃ<em>い</em>ませんでした</span></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="くださる (hon.) - to give" class="popup">下さる</span></td><td><span title="くださる (hon.) - to give" class="popup">下さ<em>い</em>ます</span></td><td><span title="くださる (hon.) - to give" class="popup">下さ<em>い</em>ました</span></td><td><span title="くださる (hon.) - to give" class="popup">下さ<em>い</em>ません</span></td><td><span title="くださる (hon.) - to give" class="popup">下さ<em>い</em>ませんでした</span></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="ござる (formal) - to exist (inanimate)" class="popup">ござる</span></td><td><span title="ござる (formal) - to exist (inanimate)" class="popup">ござ<em>い</em>ます</span></td><td><span title="ござる (formal) - to exist (inanimate)" class="popup">ござ<em>い</em>ました</span></td><td><span title="ござる (formal) - to exist (inanimate)" class="popup">ござ<em>い</em>ません</span></td><td><span title="ござる (formal) - to exist (inanimate)" class="popup">ござ<em>い</em>ませんでした</span></td></tr>
</table>
</center>

<h3>Examples of honorific form</h3>
We can now begin to see that 「<span title="ください - please give, please do" class="popup">ください</span>」 is just a special conjugation of 「<span title="くださる (hon.) - to give" class="popup">下さる</span>」 which is the honorific version of 「<span title="くれる - to give" class="popup">くれる</span>」.  Let's look at some actual examples.
Since these examples are all questions directed directly to someone (second person), they all use the honorific form.
<br />
<br />（１）　アリスさん、<span title="もう - already" class="popup">もう</span><em><span title="めしあがる (hon.) - to eat" class="popup">召し上がりました</span></em>か。- Alice-san, did [you] eat already?
<br />（２）　<span title="しごと - work" class="popup">仕事</span>で<span title="なに - what" class="popup">何</span>を<em><span title="なさる (hon.) - to do" class="popup">なさっている</span></em>んですか。- What are you doing at work?
<br />（３）　<span title="すいせんじょう - recommendation" class="popup">推薦状</span>を<span title="かく - to write" class="popup">書いて</span><em><span title="くださる - (hon.) to give; to confer" class="popup">くださる</span>んです</em>か。- You're going to give me the favor of writing a recommendation letter?
<br />（４）　<span title="どちら - which direction" class="popup">どちら</span>から<em><span title="いらっしゃる (hon.) - to go, to come, to exist (animate)" class="popup">いらっしゃいました</span></em>か。- Where did you come from?
<br />（５）　<span title="きょう - today" class="popup">今日</span>は、<span title="どちら - which direction" class="popup">どちら</span>へ<em><span title="いらっしゃる (hon.) - to go, to come, to exist (animate)" class="popup">いらっしゃいます</span></em>か。- Where are you going today?

<h3>Examples of humble form</h3>
The following examples are all actions done by the speaker so they all use the humble form.
<br />（１）　<span title="わたし - me, myself, I" class="popup">私</span>はキムと<em><span title="もうす (hum.) - to say" class="popup">申します</span></em>。- As for me, [people] say Kim. (I am called Kim.)
<br />（２）　<span title="わたし - me, myself, I" class="popup">私</span>が<span title="かく - to write" class="popup">書いた</span><span title="レポート - report" class="popup">レポート</span>を<span title="みる - to see" class="popup">見て</span><em><span title="いただく (hum.) -  to receive" class="popup">いただけます</span></em>か。 - Will I be able to receive the favor of getting my report looked at?
<br />（３）　<span title="しつれい - discourtesy" class="popup">失礼</span><em><span title="いたす (hum.) - to do" class="popup">致します</span></em>。- Excuse me. (lit: I am doing a discourtesy.)

<h2 id="part3.honorhum.html">Other substitutions</h2>
In addition to these set expressions, there are some words that also have more polite counterparts.
Probably the most important is the politer version of 「<span title="ある - to exist (inanimate)" class="popup">ある</span>」, which is 「<span title="ござる (formal) - to exist (inanimate)" class="popup">ござる</span>」. This verb can be used for both inanimate and animate objects.
It is neither honorific nor humble but it is a step above 「<span title="ある - to exist (inanimate)" class="popup">ある</span>」 in politeness. However, unless you want to sound like a samurai,
「<span title="ござる (formal) - to exist (inanimate)" class="popup">ござる</span>」 is always used in the polite form: 「<span title="ござる (formal) - to exist (inanimate)" class="popup">ございます</span>」.

<p>By extension, the politer version of 「です」 is 「で<span title="ござる (formal) - to exist (inanimate)" class="popup">ございます</span>」.  This is essentially the
masu-form conjugation of 「で<span title="ござる (formal) - to exist (inanimate)" class="popup">ござる</span>」, which comes from 「で<span title="ある - to exist (inanimate)" class="popup">ある</span>」 literally meaning, "to exist as" (to be covered <a href="formal.html#part2.honorhum.html">much later</a>).
</p>

<h3>Examples</h3>
（１A）　<span title="こちら - this way, over here" class="popup">こちら</span>は、<span title="わたし - me, myself, I" class="popup">私</span>の<span title="へや - room" class="popup">部屋</span><em>です</em>。- Over here is my room.
<br />（１B）　<span title="こちら - this way, over here" class="popup">こちら</span>は、<span title="わたし - me, myself, I" class="popup">私</span>の<span title="へや - room" class="popup">部屋</span><em>で<span title="ござる (formal) - to exist (inanimate)" class="popup">ございます</span></em>。- This way is my room.
<br />
<br />（２A）　<span title="おてあらい - restroom" class="popup">お手洗い</span>は<span title="この - this" class="popup">この</span><span title="ビル - building" class="popup">ビル</span>の<span title="にかい - second floor" class="popup">二階</span>に<em><span title="ある - to exist (inanimate)" class="popup">あります</span></em>。- The bathroom is in the second floor of this building.
<br />（２B）　<span title="おてあらい - restroom" class="popup">お手洗い</span>は<span title="この - this" class="popup">この</span><span title="ビル - building" class="popup">ビル</span>の<span title="にかい - second floor" class="popup">二階</span>に<em><span title="ござる (formal) - to exist (inanimate)" class="popup">ございます</span></em>。- The bathroom is in the second floor of this building.

<p>
Other examples include 「<span title="いい - good" class="popup">いい</span>」, which is more formally expressed as 「<span title="よろしい - good" class="popup">よろしい</span>」.
There are also six different ways to say, "I'm sorry" (not counting 「<span title="わるい - bad" class="popup">悪い</span>ね」 or slight inflection changes like 「<span title="すいません - sorry" class="popup">すいません</span>」).
</p>
<p>Successively politer expressions for apologizing:
<br />（１）　<span title="ごめん - sorry" class="popup">ごめん</span>。
<br />（２）　<span title="ごめんなさい - sorry" class="popup">ごめんなさい</span>。
<br />（３）　<span title="すみません - sorry" class="popup">すみません</span>。
<br />（４）　<span title="もうしわけ - excuse" class="popup">申し訳</span><span title="ある - to exist (inanimate)" class="popup">ありません</span>。 (<span title="もうしわけ - excuse" class="popup">申し訳</span> is the humble form of <span title="いいわけ - excuse" class="popup">言い訳</span>)
<br />（５）　<span title="おそれいる - to be sorry" class="popup">恐れ入ります</span>。
<br />（６）　<span title="きょうしゅく - shame" class="popup">恐縮</span>です。
</p>

<p>In addition, the politest suffix for names is 「<span title="さま - polite suffix" class="popup">様</span>」, one level above 「さん」.  You won't be using this suffix too often in actual speech
even if you speak to that person in honorific/humble speech.  However, expect to use it when writing letters even to people you are
somewhat familiar with.  Also, service people such as cashiers or waitresses/waiters will normally refer to the customer as 「<span title="おきゃくさま - customer" class="popup">お客様</span>」.
Of course, royalty and deities are always accompanied by 「<span title="さま - polite suffix" class="popup">様</span>」 such as 「<span title="かみさま - god" class="popup">神様</span>」.
</p>


<h2 id="part4.honorhum.html">Honorific and Humble Conjugations</h2>
For all other verbs without set expressions, there are conjugation rules to change them into honorific and humble forms.  They both involve a common
practice of attaching a polite prefix 「<span title="ご - honorific prefix" class="popup">御</span>」.  In Japanese, there is an practice of attaching an honorific prefix 「<span title="ご - honorific prefix" class="popup">御</span>」
to certain (not all) nouns to show politeness.  In fact, some words like 「<span title="おさけ - alcohol" class="popup">お酒</span>」、 「<span title="おちゃ - tea" class="popup">お茶</span>」、or 「<span title="おかね - money" class="popup">お金</span>」
come with this prefix so often that it's become practically the word itself.  In general, 「<span title="ご - honorific prefix" class="popup">御</span>」 is written in hiragana as either 「ご」 for words read as
<span title="おんよみ - Chinese reading" class="popup">音読み</span> （例： ご<span title="いけん - opinion" class="popup">意見</span>、<span title="ごはん - rice, meal" class="popup">ご飯</span>） or 「お」 for words read as
<span title="くんよみ - Japanese reading" class="popup">訓読み</span> （例： <span title="おかね - money" class="popup">お金</span>、
お<span title="しごと - work" class="popup">仕事</span>）. In fact, you may have been using this prefix already without realizing it
like 「<span title="おこのみやき - Japanese pancake" class="popup">お好み焼き</span>」 or 「<span title="おみやげ - souvenir" class="popup">お土産</span>」.
There are some exceptions to this rule such as 「お<span title="へんじ - reply" class="popup">返事</span>」. Luckily since
「<span title="ご - honorific prefix" class="popup">御</span>」 is rarely written in kanji, identifying the exceptions should not really be a problem.

<h3>Honorific Form</h3>
The honorific form of verbs <i>that are not among the set honorific expressions given above</i> can be formed in two different ways.

<p><b>Honorific Conjugation 1: お + stem + に + <span title="なる - to become" class="popup">なる</span></b></p>
<p>This kind of makes sense if you think of it as a person becoming the honorific state of a verb.  All subsequent conjugations follow the normal rules of
conjugating the u-verb 「<span title="なる - to become" class="popup">なる</span>」.  To be honest, this type of sentence formulation is rarely used.
</p>

<p>（１）　<span title="せんせい - teacher" class="popup">先生</span>は<span title="どう - how" class="popup"></span><em>お<span title="みえる - to be visible" class="popup">見え</span>に<span title="なる - to become" class="popup">なります</span></em>か。- Have you seen the teacher?
</p>

<p><b>Honorific Conjugation 2:  お + stem + です</b>
</p>

<p>（２）　<span title="もう - already" class="popup">もう</span><em>お<span title="かえる - to go home" class="popup">帰り</span>です</em>か。- You're going home already?
<br />（３）　<span title="てんない - inside store" class="popup">店内</span>で<em>お<span title="めしあがる (hon.) - to eat" class="popup">召し上がり</span>です</em>か。- Will you be dining in?
<br /> Service people want to be extra polite so they will often use this type of "double honorific" conjugation or <span title="にじゅうけいご -  doubly-polite phrase" class="popup">二重敬語</span> (in this case, the honorific 「<span title="めしあがる (hon.) - to eat" class="popup">召し上がる</span>」 combined with the honorific conjugation).  Whether it's necessary or grammatically proper is another story.
</p>


<h3>Using 「<span title="ください - please give, please do" class="popup">ください</span>」 with honorifics</h3>
You can also use 「<span title="ください - please give, please do" class="popup">下さい</span>」 with a honorific verb by replacing 「に<span title="なる - to become" class="popup">なる</span>」 with 「<span title="ください - please give, please do" class="popup">ください</span>」. This is useful for when you want to ask somebody to do something but still use a honorific verb.

<p>Yet another often-used expression.
<br />（１）　<span title="しょうしょう - just a bit" class="popup">少々</span><em>お<span title="まつ - to wait" class="popup">待ち</span><span title="ください - please give, please do" class="popup">ください</span></em>。- Please wait a moment.
</p>

<p>Similarly, with 「<span title="ごらん (hon.) - seeing" class="popup">ご覧</span>に<span title="なる - to become" class="popup">なる</span>」, you simply replace 「に<span title="なる - to become" class="popup">なる</span>」 with 「<span title="ください - please give, please do" class="popup">ください</span>」.
<br />（２）　<span title="こちら - this way, over here" class="popup">こちら</span>に<em><span title="ごらん (hon.) - seeing" class="popup">ご覧</span><span title="ください - please give, please do" class="popup">下さい</span></em>。- Please look this way.
</p>

<p>This works for other nouns as well.  For example, riding the trains...
<br />（３）　<span title="しまる - to be closed" class="popup">閉まる</span><span title="ドア - door" class="popup">ドア</span>に<em>ご<span title="ちゅうい - caution" class="popup">注意</span><span title="ください - please give, please do" class="popup">下さい</span></em>。- Please be careful of the closing doors.
</p>

<h3>Humble Form</h3>
Humble verbs are formed in the following fashion.
<p><b>Humble Conjugation: お + stem + <span title="する - to do" class="popup">する</span></b></p>

<p>You've probably already heard the first example many times before but now you know exactly where it comes from.</p>

<p>（１）　<span title="よろしい - good" class="popup">よろしく</span><em>お<span title="ねがう - to request" class="popup">願いします</span></em>。- I properly make request.
<br />（２）　<span title="せんせい - teacher" class="popup">先生</span>、<em>お<span title="きく - to ask, to hear" class="popup">聞き</span><span title="する - to do" class="popup">したい</span></em><span title="こと - event, matter" class="popup">こと</span>が<span title="ある - to exist (inanimate)" class="popup">あります</span>が。- Teacher, there's something I want to ask you.
<br />（３）　<span title="すみません - sorry" class="popup">すみません</span>、<em>お<span title="まつ - to wait" class="popup">待たせ</span><span title="する - to do" class="popup">しました</span></em>。- Sorry, I made you wait (causative form).
<br />（４）　<span title="せんえん - 1,000 yen" class="popup">千円</span>から<em>お<span title="あずかる - to keep charge of" class="popup">預かり</span><span title="いたす (hum.) - to do" class="popup">いたします</span></em>。- We'll be holding on [from?] your 1000 yen.
</p>
<p>You'll hear something like example （４） when, for example, you need to get change after paying 1000 yen.
Again, the <span title="にじゅうけいご -  doubly-polite phrase" class="popup">二重敬語</span> where 「<span title="する - to do" class="popup">する</span>」 has been converted to the humble 「<span title="いたす (hum.) - to do" class="popup">致す</span>」 form when it's already in the お+stem+<span title="する - to do" class="popup">する</span> humble form.  Some
Japanese people complain that this makes no sense and that 「から」 should really be 「を」.
</p>

<h2 id="part5.honorhum.html">Making honorific requests</h2>
We learned how to make polite requests using 「～<span title="ください - please give, please do" class="popup">ください</span>」 in <a href="requests.html#part2.honorhum.html">this previous section</a> and we just looked at how to use honorific verbs with requests as well. However, there is yet another way to make requests using honorific verbs. This grammar only applies to the honorific verbs with special 「～ます」 conjugations that we just covered. This includes 「<span title="くださる (hon.) - to give" class="popup">下さる</span>」、「<span title="いらっしゃる (hon.) - to go, to come, to exist (animate)" class="popup">いらっしゃる</span>」、「<span title="なさる (hon.) - to do" class="popup">なさる</span>」、and 「<span title="おっしゃる (hon.) - to say" class="popup">おっしゃる</span>」.　I've never actually seen this used with 「<span title="おっしゃる (hon.) - to say" class="popup">おっしゃる</span>」, but it is grammatically possible.

<div class="sumbox">
<span class="summary">Making requests for honorific actions</span>
<ul>
<li>Conjugate the honorific verb to the special masu-conjugation and replace the last 「す」 with 「せ」
<br />例）　<span title="ください - please give, please do" class="popup">下さ<em><strike>る</strike></em></span> → <span title="ください - please give, please do" class="popup">下さいま<em><strike>す</strike></em></span> → <span title="ください - please give, please do" class="popup">下さいま<em>せ</em></span>
<br />例）　<span title="いらっしゃる (hon.) - to go, to come, to exist (animate)" class="popup">いらっしゃ<em><strike>る</strike></em></span> → <span title="いらっしゃる (hon.) - to go, to come, to exist (animate)" class="popup">いらっしゃいま<em><strike>す</strike></em></span> → <span title="いらっしゃる (hon.) - to go, to come, to exist (animate)" class="popup">いらっしゃいま<em>せ</em></span></li>
</ul>

<ul>
<li>An abbreviated and less formal version of this is to simply remove the 「ます」 after conjugating to special the masu-form
<br />例）　<span title="くださる (hon.) - to give" class="popup">下さ<em><strike>る</strike></em></span> → <span title="くださる (hon.) - to give" class="popup">下さい<em><strike>ます</strike></em></span> → <span title="くださる (hon.) - to give" class="popup">下さい</span>
<br />例）　<span title="いらっしゃる (hon.) - to go, to come, to exist (animate)" class="popup">いらっしゃ<em><strike>る</strike></em></span> → <span title="いらっしゃる (hon.) - to go, to come, to exist (animate)" class="popup">いらっしゃい<em><strike>ます</strike></em></span> → <span title="いらっしゃる (hon.) - to go, to come, to exist (animate)" class="popup">いらっしゃい</span></li>
</ul>
</div>

<p>Now you finally know where grammar such as 「<span title="する - to do" class="popup">し</span><em>なさい</em>」 and  「<span title="する - to do" class="popup">して</span><em><span title="ください - please give, please do" class="popup">ください</span></em>」 actually came from.
Let's look at a few quick examples.
</p>

<h3>Examples</h3>
You'll probably hear this one a million times every time you enter some kind of store in Japan.
<br />（１）　<em><span title="いらっしゃる (hon.) - to go, to come, to exist (animate)" class="popup">いらっしゃいませ</span></em>。- Please come in!

<p>
However, a middle-aged sushi chef will probably use the abbreviated version.
<br />（２）　<em><span title="いらっしゃる (hon.) - to go, to come, to exist (animate)" class="popup">いらっしゃい</span></em>！- Please come in!
</p>

<p>
Some more examples...
<br />（３）　<span title="ありがとうございます (pol) - thank you" class="popup">ありがとうございました</span>。<span title="また - again" class="popup">また</span>お<span title="こす - to go over" class="popup">越し</span><em><span title="ください - please give, please do" class="popup">くださいませ</span></em>。- Thank you very much. Please come again.
<br />（４）　<span title="どうぞ - please" class="popup">どうぞ</span>、ご<span title="ゆっくり - slowly" class="popup">ゆっくり</span><em><span title="なさる (hon.) - to do" class="popup">なさいませ</span></em>。- Please take your time and relax.
</p>

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<a href="http://www.guidetojapanese.org/forum/viewforum.php?id=18">Report a correction or suggestion for this page</a>
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<div class="small" style="text-align:right;"><pre>This page has last been revised on 2006/8/19</pre></div>
<br class="break"/>
<h1>Oops! I screwed up.</h1>

<br /><br /><br />

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
<tr><td>
<div class="outline">
<!-- outline menu -->
<center><span class="summary">Outline</span></center>
<ol>
<li><a href="#part1.unintended.html">Unintended Actions</a></li>
<li><a href="#part2.unintended.html">Using 「<span title="しまう - to do something by accident, to finish completely" class="popup">しまう</span>」 with other verbs</a></li>
<li><a href="#part3.unintended.html">Using the casual version of 「～て<span title="しまう - to do something by accident, to finish completely" class="popup">しまう</span>」</a></li>
<li><a href="#part4.unintended.html">Another meaning of 「<span title="しまう - to do something by accident, to finish completely" class="popup">しまう</span>」</a></li>
</ol>
</div>
</td></tr>
</table>

<h2  id="part1.unintended.html">Unintended Actions</h2>
This is the first of many useful tools that will become essential in your day-to-day conversations.  We will now learn how to express an
action that has taken place unintentionally often with unsatisfactory results.  This is primarily done by the verb 「<span title="しまう - to do something by accident, to finish completely" class="popup">しまう</span>」.  Let's look at an example.
<p><span title="こうすけ - Kousuke" class="popup">康介</span>：　<span title="しゅくだい - homework" class="popup">宿題</span>を<span title="やる - to do" class="popup">やった</span>？- Did you do homework?
<br />アリス：　<em><span title="しまう - to do something by accident, to finish completely" class="popup">しまった</span></em>！- Oh no! (I screwed up!)
</p>

<h2 id="part2.unintended.html">Using 「<span title="しまう - to do something by accident, to finish completely" class="popup">しまう</span>」 with other verbs</h2>
When 「<span title="しまう - to do something by accident, to finish completely" class="popup">しまう</span>」 is used in this sense, it is normal to attach it to the <a href="compound.html#part2.unintended.html">te-form</a> of another verb to express an action that is done or
happened unintentionally.  As is common with this type of grammar, the tense is decided by the tense of  「<span title="しまう - to do something by accident, to finish completely" class="popup">しまう</span>」.

<p>（１）　<span title="その - that" class="popup">その</span><span title="ケーキ - cake" class="popup">ケーキ</span>を<span title="ぜんぶ - all" class="popup">全部</span><em><span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べて</span></em><span title="しまう - to do something by accident, to finish completely" class="popup">しまった</span>。- Oops, I ate that whole cake.
<br />（２）　<span title="まいにち - every day" class="popup">毎日</span><span title="ケーキ - cake" class="popup">ケーキ</span>を<span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べて</span>、<span title="にキロ - 2 kilograms" class="popup">２キロ</span><em><span title="ふとる - to get fat" class="popup">太って</span></em><span title="しまう - to do something by accident, to finish completely" class="popup">しまいました</span>。- I ate cake everyday and I (unintentionally) gained two kilograms.
<br />（３）　<span title="ちゃんと - properly" class="popup">ちゃんと</span><span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べない</span>と、<em><span title="やせる - to get skinny" class="popup">痩せて</span></em><span title="しまう - to do something by accident, to finish completely" class="popup">しまいます</span>よ。- If you don't eat properly, you'll (unintentionally) lost weight you know.
<br />（４）　<span title="けっきょく - in the end" class="popup">結局</span>、<span title="いや - distasteful" class="popup">嫌</span>な<span title="こと - matter, event" class="popup">こと</span>を<em><span title="する - to do" class="popup">させて</span></em><span title="しまう - to do something by accident, to finish completely" class="popup">しまった</span>。- In the end, I (unintentionally) made [someone] do something distasteful.
<br />（５）　<span title="ごめん - sorry" class="popup">ごめん</span>、<em><span title="まつ - to wait" class="popup">待たせて</span></em><span title="しまう - to do something by accident, to finish completely" class="popup">しまって</span>！ - Sorry about (unintentionally) making you wait!
<br />（６）　<span title="きんぎょ - goldfish" class="popup">金魚</span>が<span title="もう - already" class="popup">もう</span><em><span title="しぬ - to die" class="popup">死んで</span></em><span title="しまう - to do something by accident, to finish completely" class="popup">しまった</span>。 - The goldfish died already (oops).
</p>

<p>If you want to see many more examples, look up 「<span title="しまう - to do something by accident, to finish completely" class="popup">しまう</span>」 on WWWJDIC and click the [EX] link.  There are over 100 examples with translations for you
to enjoy.</p>

<h2 id="part3.unintended.html">Using the casual version of 「～て<span title="しまう - to do something by accident, to finish completely" class="popup">しまう</span>」</h2>
In casual speech, the 「～て<span title="しまう - to do something by accident, to finish completely" class="popup">しまう</span>」 is often substituted by 「～ちゃう」 while 「～で<span title="しまう - to do something by accident, to finish completely" class="popup">しまう</span>」 is substituted by 「じゃう」.  Both 「～ちゃう」 and 「～じゃう」
conjugate just like regular u-verbs.

<p>（１）　<span title="きんぎょ - goldfish" class="popup">金魚</span>が<span title="もう - already" class="popup">もう</span><span title="しぬ - to die" class="popup">死ん</span><em>じゃった</em>。- The goldfish died already.
<br />（２）　<span title="もう - already" class="popup">もう</span><span title="かえる - to go home" class="popup">帰っ<em>ちゃって</em></span><span title="いい - good" class="popup">いい</span>？- Is it OK if I went home already?
<br />（３）　<span title="みんな - everybody" class="popup">みんな</span>、<span title="どっか - somewhere (from どこか)" class="popup">どっか</span><span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行っ<em>ちゃった</em></span>よ。- Everybody went off somewhere.
<br />（４）　<span title="そろそろ - gradually" class="popup">そろそろ</span><span title="おそい - late" class="popup">遅くなっ<em>ちゃう</em></span>よ。- It'll gradually become late, you know.
</p>

<p>
There is yet another very colloquial version of 「～て<span title="しまう - to do something by accident, to finish completely" class="popup">しまう</span>」 and 「～で<span title="しまう - to do something by accident, to finish completely" class="popup">しまう</span>」 where it is replaced by 「～ちまう」 and 「～じまう」 respectively. Unlike, the cuter
「～ちゃう」 and 「～じゃう」 slang, this version conjures a image of rough and course middle-aged man.
<br />（１）　<span title="また - again" class="popup">また</span><span title="ちこく - tardiness" class="popup">遅刻</span><em><span title="する - to do" class="popup">しちまった</span></em>よ。- Darn, I'm late again.
<br />（２）　<span title="ごめん - sorry" class="popup">ごめん</span>、<span title="つい - unconsciously" class="popup">つい</span><span title="おまえ - you (vulgar)" class="popup">お前</span>を<span title="よぶ - to call" class="popup">呼ん<em>じまった</em></span>。- Sorry, I just ended up calling you unconsciously.
</p>

<h2 id="part4.unintended.html">Another meaning of 「<span title="しまう - to do something by accident, to finish completely" class="popup">しまう</span>」</h2>
If you look up 「<span title="しまう - to do something by accident, to finish completely" class="popup">しまう</span>」, the edict dictionary will say:
<br /><span title="しまう - to do something by accident, to finish completely" class="popup">仕舞う</span> 【<span title="しまう - to do something by accident, to finish completely" class="popup">しまう</span>】 (v5u) (uk) to finish; to close; to do something completely; to put away; to put an end to;
<br />You may want to consider this a totally separate verb from the 「<span title="しまう - to do something by accident, to finish completely" class="popup">しまう</span>」 we have covered so far.  Occasionally but not usually,
「<span title="しまう - to do something by accident, to finish completely" class="popup">しまう</span>」 will have this meaning rather than the unintended action.

<p>（１）　<span title="しゅくだい - homework" class="popup">宿題</span>を<span title="やる - to do" class="popup">やって</span><span title="しまう - to do something by accident, to finish completely" class="popup">しまいなさい</span>。- Finish your homework completely.
</p>

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<p class="copyright">Copyright &copy; 2003-2007 Tae Kim (taekim.japanese AT gmail.com)</p>
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<a href="http://www.guidetojapanese.org/forum/viewforum.php?id=18">Report a correction or suggestion for this page</a>
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<br class="break"/>
<h1>Generic Nouns</h1>

<br /><br /><br />

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
<tr><td>
<div class="outline">
<!-- outline menu -->
<center><span class="summary">Outline</span></center>
<ol>
<li><a href="#part1.genericnoun.html">Special Expressions with Generic Nouns</a></li>
<li><a href="#part2.genericnoun.html">Using 「<span title="こと - event, matter" class="popup">こと</span>」 to say whether something has happened</a></li>
<li><a href="#part3.genericnoun.html">Using 「<span title="ところ - place" class="popup">ところ</span>」 as an abstract place</a></li>
<li><a href="#part4.genericnoun.html">Using 「<span title="もの - thing, person" class="popup">もの</span>」 as a casual feminine way to emphasize</a></li>
</ol>
</div>
</td></tr>
</table>

<h2 id="part1.genericnoun.html">Special Expressions with Generic Nouns</h2>
We've already learned how to use generic nouns in order to modify nouns <a href="particles3.html#part4.genericnoun.html">here</a>.  Now we will go over some
special expression used with generic nouns.

<h2 id="part2.genericnoun.html">Using 「<span title="こと - event, matter" class="popup">こと</span>」 to say whether something has happened</h2>
When you combine 「<span title="こと - event, matter" class="popup">こと</span>」, the generic word for an event with 「<span title="ある - to exist (inanimate)" class="popup">ある</span>」, you can talk about whether an event exists or not.

<h3>Examples</h3>
<p>
（１）　<span title="てつや - to stay up all night" class="popup">徹夜</span><span title="する - to do" class="popup">して</span>、<span title="しゅくだい - homework" class="popup">宿題</span><em><span title="する - to do" class="popup">する</span><span title="こと - event, matter" class="popup">こと</span></em>は<em><span title="ある - to exist (inanimate)" class="popup">ある</span></em>。
<br />- There are times when I do homework while staying up all night.
</p>
<p>
（２）　<span title="ひとり - alone" class="popup">一人</span>で<em><span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行く</span><span title="こと - event, matter" class="popup">こと</span></em>は<em><span title="ある - to exist (inanimate)" class="popup">ありません</span></em>。
<br />- I never go by myself.
</p>

<p>Using the past tense of the verb with 「<span title="こと - event, matter" class="popup">こと</span>」, you can talk about whether an event has ever taken place.  This is essentially
the only way you can say "have done" in Japanese so this is a very useful expression. You need to use this grammar any time
you want to talk about whether someone has ever done something.
</p>

<h3>Examples</h3>
<p>
（１）　<span title="パリ - Paris" class="popup">パリ</span>に<em><span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行った</span><span title="こと - event, matter" class="popup">こと</span></em>は<em><span title="ある - to exist (inanimate)" class="popup">あります</span></em>か。
<br />- Have you ever gone to Paris?
</p>
<p>
（２）　<span title="おすし - sushi" class="popup">お寿司</span>を<em><span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べた</span><span title="こと - event, matter" class="popup">こと</span></em>が<em><span title="ある - to exist (inanimate)" class="popup">ある</span></em>。
<br />- I've had sushi before.
</p>
<p>
（３）　<span title="にほん - Japan" class="popup">日本</span>の<span title="えいが - movie" class="popup">映画</span>を<em><span title="みる - to see" class="popup">観た</span><span title="こと - event, matter" class="popup">こと</span><span title="ある - to exist (inanimate)" class="popup">ない</span></em>の？
<br />- You've never seen a Japanese movie?
</p>
<p>
（４）　<span title="ヨーロッパ - Europe" class="popup">ヨーロッパ</span>に<em><span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行った</span><span title="こと - event, matter" class="popup">こと</span></em>が<em><span title="ある - to exist (inanimate)" class="popup">あったら</span></em><span title="いい - good" class="popup">いい</span>な。
<br />- It would be nice if I ever go to Europe.
</p>
<p>
（５）　<span title="そういう - that type of thing" class="popup">そういう</span>のを<em><span title="みる - to see" class="popup">見た</span><span title="こと - event, matter" class="popup">こと</span></em>が<em><span title="ある - to exist (inanimate)" class="popup">なかった</span></em>。
<br />- I had never seen anything like that.
</p>
<p>
（６）　<span title="いちど - one time" class="popup">一度</span><em><span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行った</span><span title="こと - event, matter" class="popup">こと</span></em>も<em><span title="ある - to exist (inanimate)" class="popup">ない</span></em>んです。
<br /> - I've never gone, not even once.
</p>

<h2 id="part3.genericnoun.html">Using 「<span title="ところ - place" class="popup">ところ</span>」 as an abstract place</h2>
「<span title="ところ - place" class="popup">ところ</span>」（<span title="ところ - place" class="popup">所</span>） is usually used to indicate a generic physical location.  However, it can also hold a much broader meaning ranging from a characteristic
to a place in time.

<h3>Examples</h3>
<p>（１）　<span title="はやい - fast, early" class="popup">早く</span><span title="くる - to come" class="popup">きて</span>。<span title="えいが - movie" class="popup">映画</span>は、<span title="いま - now" class="popup">今</span><span title="ちょうど - exactly" class="popup">ちょうど</span><em><span title="いい - good" class="popup">いい</span></em><span title="ところ - place" class="popup">ところ</span>だよ。
<br />- Come quickly.  We're at the good part of the movie.
</p>
<p>
（２）　<span title="かれ - he, boyfriend" class="popup">彼</span>は、<span title="やさしい - gentle, kind" class="popup">優しい</span><em><span title="ところ - place" class="popup">ところ</span></em>も<span title="ある - to exist (inanimate)" class="popup">ある</span>よ。
<br />- His personality has some gentle parts too.
</p>
<p>
（３）　<span title="いま - now" class="popup">今</span>は<span title="じゅぎょう - class" class="popup">授業</span>が<span title="おわる - to end" class="popup">終った</span><em><span title="ところ - place" class="popup">ところ</span></em>です。
<br />- Class has ended just now.
</p>
<p>
（４）　<span title="これから - from now" class="popup">これから</span><span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行く</span><em><span title="ところ - place" class="popup">ところ</span></em>でした。
<br />- I was just about to go from now.
</p>

<h2 id="part4.genericnoun.html">Using 「<span title="もの - thing, person" class="popup">もの</span>」 as a casual feminine way to emphasize</h2>
The generic object noun 「<span title="もの - thing, person" class="popup">もの</span>」 can be used as a casual and feminine way of <a href="particles3.html#part5.genericnoun.html">emphasizing something</a>.  This is identical to the explanatory feminine
emphasis expressed by the 「の」 particle.  Just like the explanatory 「の」 particle, the 「の」 is often changed into 「ん」 resulting in 「もん」.  Using 「もん」 sounds
very feminine and a little cheeky (in a cute way).

<h3>Examples</h3>
<p>
（<span title="しつもん - question" class="popup">質問</span>）　<span title="どうして - why" class="popup">どうして</span><span title="くる - to come" class="popup">こなかった</span>の？- Why didn't (you) come?
<br />（１）　<span title="じゅぎょう - class" class="popup">授業</span>が<span title="ある - to exist (inanimate)" class="popup">あった</span><em>の</em>。- I had class. (feminine explanatory)
<br />（２）　<span title="じゅぎょう - class" class="popup">授業</span>が<span title="ある - to exist (inanimate)" class="popup">あった</span><em><span title="もの - thing, person" class="popup">もの</span></em>。- I had class. (feminine explanatory)
<br />（３）　<span title="じゅぎょう - class" class="popup">授業</span>が<span title="ある - to exist (inanimate)" class="popup">あった</span><em>もん</em>。- I had class, so there. (feminine explanatory)
</p>

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<p class="copyright">Copyright &copy; 2003-2007 Tae Kim (taekim.japanese AT gmail.com)</p>
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</div>

<div class="small" style="text-align:right;"><pre>This page has last been revised on 2004/12/16</pre></div>

<br class="break"/>
<h1>It's definitely kind of true for sure maybe...</h1>

<br /><br /><br />

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
<tr><td>
<div class="outline">
<!-- outline menu -->
<center><span class="summary">Outline</span></center>
<ol>
<li><a href="#part1.certainty.html">Expressing different degrees of certainty</a></li>
<li><a href="#part2.certainty.html">Using 「かもしれない」 to express uncertainty</a></li>
<li><a href="#part3.certainty.html">Using 「でしょう」 to express a fair amount of certainty (polite)</a></li>
<li><a href="#part4.certainty.html">Using 「でしょう」 and 「だろう」 to express a strong amount of certainty (casual)</a></li>
</ol>
</div>
</td></tr>
</table>

<h2 id="part1.certainty.html">Expressing different degrees of certainty</h2>
In general, Japanese people don't assert themselves of something unless they are absolutely sure that it is correct.  This accounts for the
incredibly frequent use of 「～と<span title="おもう - to think" class="popup">思う</span>」 and the various grammatical expressions used to express specific
levels of certainty.  We will go over these expressions starting from the less certain to the most certain.

<h2 id="part2.certainty.html">Using 「かもしれない」 to express uncertainty</h2>
「かもしれない」 is used to mean "maybe" or "possibly" and is less certain than the word 「<span title="たぶん  - perhaps; probably" class="popup">多分</span>」.  It attaches to the end of a complete
clause.  For noun and na-adjective clauses, the declarative 「だ」 must be removed.  It can also be written in kanji as 「かも知れない」 and you can
treat it the same as a negative ru-verb (there is no positive equivalent) so the masu-form would become 「かもしれません」.
In casual speech, it can be abbreviated to just 「かも」.
There is also a very masculine version 「かもしれん」, which is simply a different type of negative verb <a href="negverb2.html">covered here</a>.

<div class="sumbox">
<span class="summary">Expressing uncertainty with 「かもしれない」</span>
<ul>
<li>Simply attach 「かもしれない」 or 「かも知れない」 to the clause
<br />例）　<span title="えいが - movie" class="popup">映画</span>を<span title="みる - to see" class="popup">見た</span><em>かもしれない</em>
<br />例）　<span title="かれ - he; boyfriend" class="popup">彼</span>は<span title="がくせい - student" class="popup">学生</span><em>かもしれない</em>
<br />例）　<span title="それ - that" class="popup">それ</span>は<span title="おもしろい - interesting" class="popup">面白い</span><em>かもしれない</em></li>
</ul>

<ul>
<li>Noun and na-adjective clauses must <strong>not</strong> use the declarative 「だ」
<br />例）　<span title="せんせい - teacher" class="popup">先生</span><em><strike>だ</strike></em>かもしれない → <span title="せんせい - teacher" class="popup">先生</span>かもしれない
<br />例）　<span title="たいくつ - boredom" class="popup">退屈</span><em><strike>だ</strike></em>かもしれない → <span title="たいくつ - boredom" class="popup">退屈</span>かもしれない</li>
</ul>

<ul>
<li>It can be abbreviated to just 「かも」 in casual speech
<br />例）　<span title="おもしろい - interesting" class="popup">面白い</span><em>かも<strike>しれない</strike></em> → <span title="おもしろい - interesting" class="popup">面白い</span><em>かも</em></li>
</ul>
</div>


<h3>Examples</h3>
（１）　スミスさんは<span title="しょくどう - cafeteria; dining hall" class="popup">食堂</span>に<span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行った</span><em>かもしれません</em>。- Smith-san may have gone to the cafeteria.
<br />（２）　<span title="あめ - rain" class="popup">雨</span>で<span title="しあい - match; game" class="popup">試合</span>は<span title="ちゅうし - cancellation" class="popup">中止</span>に<span title="なる - to become" class="popup">なる</span><em>かもしれない</em>ね。 - The game may become canceled by rain, huh?
<br />（３）　<span title="この - this" class="popup">この</span><span title="えいが - movie" class="popup">映画</span>は<span title="いっかい - one time" class="popup">一回</span><span title="みる - to see" class="popup">見た</span><span title="こと - matter; event" class="popup">こと</span><span title="ある - to exist (inanimate)" class="popup">ある</span><em>かも</em>！- I might have already seen this movie once.
<br />（４）　<span title="あそこ - over there" class="popup">あそこ</span>が<span title="よよぎ - Yoyogi" class="popup">代々木</span><span title="こうえん - park" class="popup">公園</span><em>かもしれない</em>。- That might be Yoyogi park over there.
<br />（５）　<span title="もう - already" class="popup">もう</span><span title="にげる - to run away" class="popup">逃げられない</span><em>かもしれん</em>ぞ。- Might not be able to escape anymore, you know.


<h2 id="part3.certainty.html">Using 「でしょう」 to express a fair amount of certainty (polite)</h2>
「でしょう」 is used to express a level of some certainty and is close in meaning to 「<span title="たぶん  - perhaps; probably" class="popup">多分</span>」.  Just like 「～です／～ます」, it must come at the end of a
complete sentence.  It does not have any other conjugations.  You can also replace 「～ですか」 with 「～でしょうか」 to make the question sound slightly
more polite and less assuming by adding a slight level of uncertainty.

<h3>Examples</h3>
（１）　<span title="あした - tomorrow" class="popup">明日</span>も<span title="あめ - rain" class="popup">雨</span><em>でしょう</em>。- Probably rain tomorrow too.
<br />（２）　<span title="あなた - you" class="popup">あなた</span>は、<span title="がくせい - student" class="popup">学生</span>さん<em>でしょう</em>か。- Are (you) student?
<br />（３）　<span title="これから - from here on" class="popup">これから</span><span title="どこ - where" class="popup">どこ</span>へ<span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行く</span>ん<em>でしょう</em>か？- Where (are you) going from here?


<p>If you want to sound really, really polite, you can even add 「～でしょうか」 to the end of a 「～ます」 ending.
<br />（４）　<span title="やすむ - to rest" class="popup">休ませて</span><span title="いただく - to receive (hum)" class="popup">いただけます</span><em>でしょうか</em>。- May I receive the favor of resting, possibly?
</p>

<h2 id="part4.certainty.html">Using 「でしょう」 and 「だろう」 to express strong amount of certainty (casual)</h2>
The casual equivalent of 「でしょう」 is surprisingly enough 「でしょう」.  However, when you are speaking in a polite manner, the 「でしょう」 is enunciated
flatly while in casual speech, it has a rising intonation and can be shortened to 「でしょ」.  In addition, since people tend to be more assertive in
casual situations, the casual version has a much stronger flavor often sounding more like, "See, I told you so!"

<h3>Examples</h3>
（１）　あっ！<span title="ちこく - tardiness" class="popup">遅刻</span><span title="する - to do" class="popup">しちゃう</span>！- Ah! We're going to be late!
<br />（２）　だから、<span title="じかん - time" class="popup">時間</span>が<span title="ある - to exist (inanimate)" class="popup">ない</span>って<span title="いう - to say" class="popup">言った</span><em>でしょう</em>！- That's why I told you there was no time!

<p>（３）　<span title="これから - from here" class="popup">これから</span><span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べ</span>に<span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行く</span>ん<em>でしょ</em>。- You're going to eat from now aren't you?
<br />（４）　だったら？- So what if I am?
</p>

<p>（５）　<span title="そうじ - cleaning" class="popup">掃除</span>、<span title="てつだう - to help; to assist" class="popup">手伝って</span><span title="くれる - to give" class="popup">くれる</span><em>でしょう</em>。- You're going to help me clean, right?
<br />（６）　え？<span title="そう - that is so" class="popup">そう</span>なの？- Huh? Is that so?
</p>

<p>「だろう」 means essentially the same thing as 「でしょう」 except that it sounds more masculine and is used mostly by males.
<br />（A）　アリスは<span title="どこ - where" class="popup">どこ</span>だ？- Where is Alice?
<br />（B）　<span title="もう - already" class="popup">もう</span><span title="ねる - to sleep" class="popup">寝ている</span><em>だろう</em>。- Probably sleeping already.
</p>

<p>（A）　<span title="もう - already" class="popup">もう</span><span title="うち - home; いえ - house" class="popup">家</span>に<span title="かえる - to go home" class="popup">帰る</span>ん<em>だろう</em>。- You're going home already, right?
<br />（B）　<span title="そう - that is so" class="popup">そう</span>よ。- That's right.
</p>

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<p class="copyright">Copyright &copy; 2003-2007 Tae Kim (taekim.japanese AT gmail.com)</p>
<p>
<a href="http://www.guidetojapanese.org/forum/viewforum.php?id=18">Report a correction or suggestion for this page</a>
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<div class="small" style="text-align:right;"><pre>This page has last been revised on 2004/12/29</pre></div>

<br class="break"/>
<h1>Doesn't amount too much</h1>

<br /><br /><br />

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
<tr><td>
<div class="outline">
<!-- outline menu -->
<center><span class="summary">Outline</span></center>
<ol>
<li><a href="#part1.amount.html">Expressing various degrees of amounts</a></li>
<li><a href="#part2.amount.html">Indicating that's all there is using 「だけ」</a></li>
<li><a href="#part3.amount.html">Using 「のみ」 as a formal version of 「だけ」</a></li>
<li><a href="#part4.amount.html">Indication that there's nothing else using 「しか」</a></li>
<li><a href="#part5.amount.html">Expressing the opposite of 「だけ」 with 「ばかり」</a></li>
<li><a href="#part6.amount.html">Saying there's too much of something using 「<span title="すぎる - to exeed; to pass" class="popup">すぎる</span>」</a></li>
<li><a href="#part7.amount.html">Adding the 「も」 particle to express excessive amounts</a></li>
<li><a href="#part8.amount.html">Using 「ほど」 to express the extent of something</a></li>
<li><a href="#part9.amount.html">Using 「～さ」 with adjectives to indicate an amount</a></li>
</ol>
</div>
</td></tr>
</table>

<h2 id="part1.amount.html">Expressing various degrees of amounts</h2>
This lesson will cover various expressions used to express various <i>degrees</i> of amounts.  For example, sentences like, "I
<u>only</u> ate one",
"That was <u>all</u> that was left", "There's <u>just</u> old people here", or "I ate <u>too much</u>" all indicate whether there's a
lot or little of something.  Most of these expressions are made with particles and not as separate words as you see in English.

<h2 id="part2.amount.html">Indicating that's all there is using 「だけ」</h2>
The particle 「だけ」 is used to express that that's all there is.  Just like the other particles we have already learned, it is directly
attached to the end of whichever word that it applies to.
<h3>Examples</h3>
<p>
（１）　<span title="りんご - apple" class="popup">りんご</span><em>だけ</em>。
<br />- Just apple(s) (and nothing else).
</p>

<p>
（２）　<span title="これ - this" class="popup">これ</span>と<span title="それ - that" class="popup">それ</span><em>だけ</em>。
<br />－Just that and this (and nothing else).
</p>

<p>When one of the major particles we covered in <a href="particles.html">Particles</a>, <a href="particles2.html">Particles 2</a>, and
<a href="particles3.html">Particles 3</a> are also applied to a word, these particles must come after 「だけ」.  In fact, the ordering of multiple
particles usually start from the most specific to the most general.
</p>

<p>
（１）　<span title="それ - that" class="popup">それ</span><em>だけは</em>、<span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べないで</span><span title="ください - please give, please do" class="popup">ください</span>。
<br />- Just don't eat that. (Anything else is assumed to be OK).
</p>

<p>
（２）　<span title="この - this" class="popup">この</span><span title="うた - song" class="popup">歌</span><em>だけを</em><span title="うたう - to sing" class="popup">歌わなかった</span>。
<br />- Didn't sing just this song.
</p>

<p>
（３）　<span title="その - that" class="popup">その</span><span title="ひと - person" class="popup">人</span><em>だけが</em><span title="すき - likable, desirable" class="popup">好きだったんだ</span>。
<br />- That person was the only person I liked.
</p>

<p>The same goes for double particles.  Again 「だけ」 must come first.
</p>
<p>
（１）　<span title="この - this" class="popup">この</span><span title="はんばいき - vending machine" class="popup">販売機</span>だけ<em>では</em>、<span title="ごひゃくえんだま - 500 yen coin" class="popup">500円玉</span>が<span title="つかう - to use" class="popup">使えない</span>。
<br />- Cannot use 500 yen coin in just this vending machine.
</p>

<p>With minor particles such as 「から」 or 「まで」, it is difficult to tell which should come first.  When in doubt, try googling to see the level of
popularity of each combination.  It turns out that 「からだけ」 is almost twice as popular as 「だけから」 with a hit number of 90,000 vs. 50,000.
</p>
<p>
（１）　<span title="こばやし - Kobayashi" class="popup">小林</span>さん<em>からだけには</em>、<span title="へんじ - reply" class="popup">返事</span>が<span title="くる - to come" class="popup">来なかった</span>。
<br />- A reply has not come <em>from only</em> Kobayashi-san (topic + target).
</p>

<p>Unlike some particles, you can directly attach 「だけ」 to verbs as well.
</p>
<p>
（１）　<span title="じゅんび - preparations" class="popup">準備</span>が<span title="おわる - to end" class="popup">終わった</span>から、<span title="これから - from here on" class="popup">これから</span>は<em><span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べる</span></em>だけだ。
<br />- Since the preparations are done, from here we just have to eat.
</p>
<p>
（２）　<span title="ここ - here" class="popup">ここ</span>に<span title="なまえ - name" class="popup">名前</span>を<em><span title="かく - to write" class="popup">書く</span></em>だけで<span title="いい - good" class="popup">いい</span>ですか？
<br />- Is it ok to just write [my] name here?
</p>

<h2 id="part3.amount.html">Using 「のみ」 as a formal version of 「だけ」</h2>
A particle that is essentially identical both grammatically and in meaning to 「だけ」 is 「のみ」.  However, unlike 「だけ」, which is used in regular
conversations, 「のみ」 is usually only used in a written context.  It is often used for explaining policies, in manuals, and other things of that nature.
  This grammar really belongs in the advanced section since formal language has a different flavor and tone from what we have
seen so far.  However, it is covered here
because it is essentially identical to 「だけ」.  Just googling for 「のみ」 will quickly show the difference in the type of language that is
used with 「のみ」 as opposed to 「だけ」.


<p>（１）　<span title="この - this" class="popup">この</span><span title="じょうしゃけん - passenger ticket" class="popup">乗車券</span>は<span title="はつばい - sale" class="popup">発売</span><span title="とうじつ - that very day" class="popup">当日</span><em>のみ</em><span title="ゆうこう - effective" class="popup">有効</span>です。
<br />- This boarding ticket is <em>only</em> valid on the date on which it was purchased.
</p>

<p>
（２）　<span title="アンケート - survey" class="popup">アンケート</span><span title="たいしょう - target" class="popup">対象</span>は<span title="だいがくせい - college student" class="popup">大学生</span><em>のみ</em>です。
<br />- The targets of this survey are <em>only</em> college students.
</p>

<h2 id="part4.amount.html">Indication that there's nothing else using 「しか」</h2>
I carefully phrased the title of this section to show that 「しか」 must be used to indicate the <b>lack</b> of everything else.  In other words, the
rest of the sentence must always be negative.

<p>（１）　<span title="これ - this" class="popup">これ</span><em>しか</em><span title="ある - to exist (inanimate)" class="popup">ない</span>。- There's nothing but this.
</p>

<p>The following is wrong.
<br />（誤）　<span title="これ - this" class="popup">これ</span><em>しか</em><strike><span title="ある - to exist (inanimate)" class="popup">ある</span></strike>。- (Wrong, wrong, wrong)
</p>

<p>As you can see, 「しか」 has an embedded negative meaning while 「だけ」 doesn't have any particular nuance.
<br />（１）　<span title="これ - this" class="popup">これ</span><em>だけ</em><span title="みる - to see" class="popup">見る</span>。- See just this.
<br />（２）　<span title="これ - this" class="popup">これ</span><em>だけ</em><span title="みる - to see" class="popup">見ない</span>。- Don't see just this.
<br />（３）　<span title="これ - this" class="popup">これ</span><em>しか</em><span title="みる - to see" class="popup">見ない</span>。- Don't see anything else but this.
</p>

<h3>Examples</h3>
Let's see some example sentences.
<p>
（１）　<span title="きょう  - today" class="popup">今日</span>は<span title="いそがしい - busy" class="popup">忙しくて</span>、<span title="あさごはん - breakfast" class="popup">朝ご飯</span><em>しか</em><span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べられなかった</span>。
<br />- Today was busy and couldn't eat anything but breakfast.
</p>

<p>Notice that unlike 「だけ」, it is necessary to finish off the sentence.</p>
<p>（<span title="しつもん - question" class="popup">質問</span>）　<span title="ぜんぶ - all" class="popup">全部</span><span title="かう - to buy" class="popup">買う</span>の？- You're buying everything?
<br />（１）　<span title="ううん - no" class="popup">ううん</span>、<span title="これ - this" class="popup">これ</span>だけ。- Nah, just this.
<br />（２）　<span title="ううん - no" class="popup">ううん</span>、<span title="これ - this" class="popup">これ</span>しか<em><span title="かう - to buy" class="popup">買わない</span></em> - Nah, won't buy anything else but this.
<br />（誤）　<span title="ううん - no" class="popup">ううん</span>、<span title="これ - this" class="popup">これ</span>しか。 - (Wrong, the sentence must explicitly indicate the negative.)
</p>

<p>While the major particles always come last, it turns out that 「しか」 must come after 「から」 and 「まで」.  A google search of 「からしか」 beats
「しかから」 by an overwhelming 60,000 to 600.
<p>
（１）　アリス<em>からしか</em><span title="なにも - nothing" class="popup">何も</span><span title="もらう - to receive" class="popup">もらってない</span>。
<br />- I didn't receive anything except from Alice.
</p>

<p>You can also use this grammar with verbs.
<p>
（１）　<span title="これから - from here on" class="popup">これから</span><span title="がんばる - to try one's best" class="popup">頑張る</span><em>しか</em><span title="ある - to exist (inanimate)" class="popup">ない</span>！
<br />- There's nothing to do but try our best!
</p>
<p>（２）　<span title="こう - like this" class="popup">こう</span><span title="なる - to become" class="popup">なったら</span>、<em><span title="にげる - to run away" class="popup">逃げる</span></em>しか<span title="ある - to exist (inanimate)" class="popup">ない</span>。
<br />- There no choice but to run away once it turns out like this.</p>
<p>（３）　<span title="もう - already" class="popup">もう</span><span title="くさる - to rot" class="popup">腐って</span>いるから、<em><span title="すてる - to throw away" class="popup">捨てる</span></em>しか<span title="ある - to exist (inanimate)" class="popup">ない</span>よ。
<br />- It's rotten already so there's nothing to do but throw it out.
</p>

<h3>「っきゃ」, an alternative to 「しか」</h3>
「っきゃ」 is another version of 「しか」 that means essentially the same thing and works exactly the same way. Just substitute 「しか」 with 「っきゃ」 and you're good to go. This version is a bit stronger than 「しか」 in emphasis but it's not used nearly as often so I wouldn't worry about it too much. I briefly cover it here just in case you do run into this expression.

<h3>Examples</h3>
<p>（１） <span title="これ - this" class="popup">これ</span>は<span title="かう - to buy" class="popup">買う</span><em>っきゃ</em><span title="ある - to exist (inanimate)" class="popup">ない</span>！
<br />- There's nothing but to buy this!</p>
<p>（２） <span title="こう - like this" class="popup">こう</span><span title="なる - to become" class="popup">なった</span>ら、<span title="もう - already" class="popup">もう</span><span title="やる - to do" class="popup">やる</span><em>っきゃ</em><span title="ある - to exist (inanimate)" class="popup">ない</span>！
<br />- If things turn out like this, there nothing to do but to just do it!
</p>

<h2 id="part5.amount.html">Expressing the opposite of 「だけ」 with 「ばかり」</h2>
「ばかり」 is used to express the condition where there's so much of something to the point where there's nothing else.  Notice this is
fundamentally different from 「しか」 which expresses a <b>lack</b> of everything else but the item in question.
In more casual situations, 「ばかり」 is usually pronounced 「ばっかり」 or just 「ばっか」.  For example, let's say you
went to a party to find, much to your dismay, the whole room filled with middle-aged women.  You might say the following.

<p>
（１）　<span title="なに - what" class="popup">何</span>だよ！<span title="おばさん - middle-aged lady" class="popup">おばさん</span><em>ばっかり</em>じゃないか？
<br />- What the? Isn't it nothing but obasan?
</p>

<p>Or perhaps a little more girly:
<br />（２）　<span title="いや - disagreeable" class="popup">いや</span>だ。<span title="おばさん - middle-aged lady" class="popup">おばさん</span><em>ばっかり</em>。
<br />- Eww.  It's nothing but obasan.
</p>

<h3>Examples</h3>
Let's look at some more examples.
<p>
（１）　<span title="たかし - Takashi" class="popup">崇</span><span title="くん - name suffix" class="popup">君</span>は<span title="まんが - comic book" class="popup">漫画</span><em>ばっかり</em><span title="よむ - to read" class="popup">読んでて</span>さ。<span title="かっこわるい - unattractive; not cool" class="popup">かっこ悪い</span>。
<br />- Takashi-kun is reading nothing but comic books... He's so uncool.
</p>
<p>
It is quite common in casual speech to end midsentence like this.
 Notice 「<span title="よむ - to read" class="popup">読んでて</span>」 is the te-form of 「<span title="よむ - to read" class="popup">読んでいる</span>」 with the 「い」 dropped. We assume that the conclusion will come somewhere later in the story.
 </p>

 <p>
（２）　<span title="かれ - he; boyfriend" class="popup">彼</span>は<span title="マージャン - mahjong" class="popup">麻雀</span><em>ばかり</em>です。
<br />- He's nothing but mahjong. (He does nothing but play mahjong.)
</p>

<p>
（３）　<span title="なおみ - Naomi" class="popup">直美</span><span title="ちゃん - name suffix" class="popup">ちゃん</span>と<span title="あそぶ - to play" class="popup">遊ぶ</span><em>ばっかり</em>でしょう！
<br />- You're hanging out with Naomi-chan all the time, aren't you!
</p>

<p>
（４）　<span title="さいきん - recently" class="popup">最近</span>は<span title="しごと - work" class="popup">仕事</span><em>ばっか</em>だよ。
<br />- Lately, it's nothing but work.
</p>

<h2 id="part6.amount.html">Saying there's too much of something using 「<span title="すぎる - to exeed; to pass" class="popup">すぎる</span>」</h2>
「<span title="すぎる - to exeed; to pass" class="popup">すぎる</span>」 is a regular ru-verb written 「<span title="すぎる - to exeed; to pass" class="popup">過ぎる</span>」 meaning, "to exceed".  However, much like 「～てほしい」 you can modify the meaning of
other verbs and adjectives.  When 「<span title="すぎる - to exeed; to pass" class="popup">すぎる</span>」 is attached to the end of other verbs and adjectives, it means that it is too much or that it has exceeded the
normal levels.  For verbs, you must directly attach 「<span title="すぎる - to exeed; to pass" class="popup">すぎる</span>」 to the stem
of the verb.  For example, to eat too much would become 「<span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べ</span><span title="すぎる - to exeed; to pass" class="popup">すぎる</span>」 and to drink too much would become 「<span title="のむ - to drink" class="popup">飲み</span><span title="すぎる - to exeed; to pass" class="popup">すぎる</span>」.
For adjectives, you just attach it to the end after you remove the last 「い」 from the i-adjectives (as usual). One more rule is that
for both negative verbs and adjectives, one must remove the 「い」 from 「ない」 and replace with 「さ」 before attaching 「<span title="すぎる - to exeed; to pass" class="popup">すぎる</span>」. There is no
tense (past or non-past) associated with this grammar. Since 「<span title="すぎる - to exeed; to pass" class="popup">すぎる</span>」 is a regular ru-verb, use of this grammar results in a regular ru-verb.

<div class="sumbox">
<span class="summary">Using 「<span title="すぎる - to exeed; to pass" class="popup">すぎる</span>」 to indicate there's too much of something</span>
<ul class="plain">
<li>1. For verbs, first change the verb to the <a href="polite.html#part2.amount.html"><i>stem</i></a> and attach 「<span title="すぎる - to exeed; to pass" class="popup">すぎる</span>」.</li>
<li>例）　<span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べ<em><strike>る</strike></em></span> → <span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べ</span><em><span title="すぎる - to exeed; to pass" class="popup">すぎる</span></em></li>
<li>例）　<span title="ふとる - to get fat" class="popup">太<em><strike>る</strike></em></span> → <span title="ふとる - to get fat" class="popup">太<em>り</em></span> → <span title="ふとる - to get fat" class="popup">太り</span><em><span title="すぎる - to exeed; to pass" class="popup">すぎる</span></em></li>
</ul>

<ul class="plain">
<li>2. For na-adjectives, simply attach 「<span title="すぎる - to exeed; to pass" class="popup">すぎる</span>」. For i-adjectives, remove the last 「い」 first before attaching 「<span title="すぎる - to exeed; to pass" class="popup">すぎる</span>」.</li>
<li>例）　<span title="しずか - quet" class="popup">静か</span> → <span title="しずか - quet" class="popup">静か</span><em><span title="すぎる - to exeed; to pass" class="popup">すぎる</span></em></li>
<li>例）　<span title="おおきい - large" class="popup">大き</span><em><strike>い</strike></em> → <span title="おおきい - large" class="popup">大き</span><em><span title="すぎる - to exeed; to pass" class="popup">すぎる</span></em></li>
</ul>

<ul class="plain">
<li>3. For negative verbs and adjectives, replace the last 「い」 from 「ない」 with 「さ」 and then attach 「<span title="すぎる - to exeed; to pass" class="popup">すぎる</span>」</li>
<li>例）　<span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べな<em><strike>い</strike></em></span> → <span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べな<em>さ</em></span> → <span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べなさ</span><em><span title="すぎる - to exeed; to pass" class="popup">すぎる</span></em></li>
<li>例）　<span title="おもしろい - interesting" class="popup">面白くな<em><strike>い</strike></em></span> → <span title="おもしろい - interesting" class="popup">面白くな<em>さ</em></span>→ <span title="おもしろい - interesting" class="popup">面白くなさ</span><em><span title="すぎる - to exeed; to pass" class="popup">すぎる</span></em></li>
</ul>

<ul class="plain">
<li><b>Note:</b> I-adjectives that end in 「ない」 which incorporate the negative 「<span title="ない - to not exist" class="popup">無い</span>」 such as 「<span title="もったいない - wasteful" class="popup">もったいない</span>」（勿体<em>無い</em>） or 「<span title="なさけない - pitiable" class="popup">情けない</span>」（情け<em>無い</em>） follow the third rule.</li>
<li>例）　<span title="もったいない - wasteful" class="popup">もったいな<em><strike>い</strike></em></span> → <span title="もったいない - wasteful" class="popup">もったいな<em>さ</em></span> → <span title="もったいない - wasteful" class="popup">もったいなさ</span><em><span title="すぎる - to exeed; to pass" class="popup">すぎる</span></em></li>
<li>例）　<span title="なさけない - pitiable" class="popup">情けな<em><strike>い</strike></em></span> → <span title="なさけない - pitiable" class="popup">情けな<em>さ</em></span> → <span title="なさけない - pitiable" class="popup">情けなさ</span><em><span title="すぎる - to exeed; to pass" class="popup">すぎる</span></em></li>
</ul>

<ul class="plain">
<li>Most regular i-adjectives such as 「<span title="あぶない - dangerous" class="popup">危ない</span>」 or 「<span title="すくない - few" class="popup">少ない</span>」 follow the regular rule (rule 2).</li>
<li>例）　<span title="あぶない - dangerous" class="popup">危な<em><strike>い</strike></em></span> → <span title="あぶない - dangerous" class="popup">危な</span><em><span title="すぎる - to exeed; to pass" class="popup">すぎる</span></em></li>
<li>例）　<span title="すくない - few" class="popup">少な<em><strike>い</strike></em></span> → <span title="すくない - few" class="popup">少な</span><em><span title="すぎる - to exeed; to pass" class="popup">すぎる</span></em></li>

</ul>

</div>


<h3>Examples</h3>
<p>
（１）　<span title="さとう - Satou" class="popup">佐藤</span><span title="さん - name suffix" class="popup">さん</span>は<span title="りょうり - cooking" class="popup">料理</span>が<span title="じょうず - skillful" class="popup">上手</span>で、<span title="また - again" class="popup">また</span><em><span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べ</span><span title="すぎる - to exeed; to pass" class="popup">過ぎました</span></em>。
<br />- Satou-san is good at cooking and I ate too much again.
</p>

<p>
（２）　<span title="おさけ - alcohol" class="popup">お酒</span>を<em><span title="のむ - to drink" class="popup">飲み</span><span title="すぎる - to exeed; to pass" class="popup">すぎない</span></em>ように<span title="きをつける - to be careful" class="popup">気をつけて</span>ね。
<br />- Be careful to not drink too much, ok?
</p>

<p>
（３）　<em><span title="おおきい - large" class="popup">大き</span><span title="すぎる - to exeed; to pass" class="popup">すぎる</span></em>から<span title="トランク - trunk" class="popup">トランク</span>に<span title="はいる - to enter" class="popup">入らない</span>ぞ。
<br />- It won't fit in the trunk cause it's too big, man.
</p>

<p>
（４）　<em><span title="しずか - quiet" class="popup">静か</span><span title="すぎる - to exeed; to pass" class="popup">すぎる</span></em>。<span title="わな - trap" class="popup">罠</span>かもしれないよ。
<br />- It's too quiet.  It might be a trap, you know.
</p>

<p>
（５）　<span title="じかん - time" class="popup">時間</span>が<em><span title="たりる - to be sufficient" class="popup">足りなさ</span><span title="すぎる - to exeed; to pass" class="popup">すぎて</span></em>、<span title="なにも - nothing" class="popup">何も</span><span title="できる - to be able to do" class="popup">できなかった</span>。
<br />- Due to too much of a lack of time, I couldn't do anything.
</p>

<p>
（６）　<span title="かれ - he; boyfriend" class="popup">彼</span>には、彼女が<em><span title="もったいない - wasteful" class="popup">もったいなさ</span><span title="すぎる - to exeed; to pass" class="popup">すぎる</span></em>よ。
<br />- She is totally wasted on him (too good for him).
</p>

<p>It is also common to change 「<span title="すぎる - to exeed; to pass" class="popup">すぎる</span>」 into its <a href="polite.html#part2.amount.html">stem</a> and use it as a noun.
</p>

<p>
（Aさん）　<span title="さくばん - last night" class="popup">昨晩</span>の<span title="こと - matter, event" class="popup">こと</span>、<span title="ぜんぜん - not at all" class="popup">全然</span><span title="おぼえる - to remember" class="popup">覚えてない</span>な。
<br />- Man, I don't remember anything about last night.
</p>

<p>
（Bさん）　<span title="それ - that" class="popup">それ</span>は<em><span title="のむ - to drink" class="popup">飲み</span><span title="すぎる - to exeed; to pass" class="popup">すぎ</span></em>だよ。
<br />- That's drinking too much.
</p>

<h2 id="part7.amount.html">Adding the 「も」 particle to express excessive amounts</h2>
When the 「も」 particle comes after some type of amount, it means that the amount indicated is way too much.  For instance, let's look at the
next example.

<p>（１）　<span title="きのう - yesterday" class="popup">昨日</span>、<span title="でんわ - phone" class="popup">電話</span><em><span title="さんかい - three times" class="popup">三回</span>も</em><span title="する - to do" class="popup">した</span>よ！
<br />- I called you like three times yesterday!
</p>

<p>Notice that the 「も」 particle is attached to the amount "three times".  This sentence implies that the speaker called even three times and still
the person didn't pick up the phone.  We understand this to mean that three times are a lot of times to call someone.
</p>


<p>（２）　<span title="しけん - exam" class="popup">試験</span>のために<em><span title="さんじかん - 3 hours" class="popup">三時間</span>も</em><span title="べんきょう - study" class="popup">勉強</span><span title="する - to do" class="popup">した</span>。
<br />- I studied three whole hours for the exam.
</p>

<p>
（３）　<span title="ことし - this year" class="popup">今年</span>、<em><span title="じゅきろ - ten kilograms" class="popup">十キロ</span>も</em><span title="ふとる - to get fat" class="popup">太っちゃった</span>！
<br />- I gained 10 whole kilograms this year!
</p>

<h2 id="part8.amount.html">Using 「ほど」 to express the extent of something</h2>
The noun 「ほど」（程） is attached to a word in a sentence to express the extent of something. It can modify nouns
as well as verbs as seen in the next example.

<p>（１）　<span title="きょう - today" class="popup">今日</span>の<span title="てんき - weather" class="popup">天気</span>は<span title="それ - that" class="popup">それ</span><em>ほど</em><span title="さむい - cold" class="popup">寒くない</span>。
<br />- Today's weather is not cold to that extent.
</p>

<p>
（２）　<span title="ねる - to sleep" class="popup">寝る</span><span title="じかん - time" class="popup">時間</span>が<span title="ある - to exist (inanimate)" class="popup">ない</span><em>ほど</em><span title="いそがしい - busy" class="popup">忙しい</span>。
<br />- Busy to the extent that there's no time to sleep.
</p>

<p>When you use this with conditionals, you can express something that translates into English as, "The more you [verb], the more..." The grammar is
always formed in the following sequence: [conditional of verb] followed immediately by [same verb+ ほど]
</p>

<p>（１）　<span title="かんこく - Korea" class="popup">韓国</span><span title="りょうり - cooking" class="popup">料理</span>は<em><span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べれば</span><span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べる</span>ほど</em>、<span title="おいしい - delicious" class="popup">おいしくなる</span>。
<br />- About Korean food, the more you eat the tastier it becomes.
</p>

<p>The literal translation is, "About Korean food, if you eat, to the extent that you eat, it becomes tasty." which essentially means the same thing.
The example uses the <a href="conditional.html#part4.amount.html">「ば」 conditional form</a>, but the <a href="conditional.html#part5.amount.html">「たら」 conditional</a> will work as well.
Since this is a general statement, the contextual <a href="conditional.html#part3.amount.html">「なら」 conditional</a>
will never work.  The decided <a href="conditional.html#part2.amount.html">「と」 conditional</a> won't work very well here either since it may not always be true depending on the
extent of the action.
</p>

<p>（１）　<em><span title="あるく - to walk" class="popup">歩いたら</span><span title="あるく - to walk" class="popup">歩くほど</span></em>、<span title="まよう - to get lost" class="popup">迷って</span>しまった。
<br />-  The more I walked, the more I got lost.
</p>

<p>
（２）　<span title="べんきょう - study" class="popup">勉強</span>を<em><span title="する - to do" class="popup">すれば</span><span title="する - to do" class="popup">する</span>ほど</em>、<span title="あたま - head" class="popup">頭</span>が<span title="いい - good" class="popup">よく</span><span title="なる - to become" class="popup">なる</span>よ。
<br />- The more you study, the more you will become smarter.
</p>

<p>You can also use this grammar with i-adjectives by using the 「ば」 conditional.</p>

<p>（１）　iPodは、<span title="ハードディスク - hard disk" class="popup">ハードディスク</span>の<span title="ようりょう - capacity" class="popup">容量</span>が<em><span title="おおきい - big" class="popup">大きければ</span><span title="おおきい - big" class="popup">大きい</span>ほど</em><span title="もっと - much more" class="popup">もっと</span><span title="たくさん - a lot" class="popup">たくさん</span>の<span title="きょく - tune" class="popup">曲</span>が<span title="ほぞん - save" class="popup">保存</span><span title="できる - to be able to do" class="popup">できます</span>。
<br />- About iPod, the larger the hard disk capacity, the more songs you can save.
</p>

<p>
（２）　<span title="こうくうけん - plane ticket" class="popup">航空券</span>は<em><span title="やすい - cheap" class="popup">安ければ</span><span title="やすい - cheap" class="popup">安い</span>ほど</em><span title="いい - good" class="popup">いい</span>とは<span title="かぎる - to impose a limit" class="popup">限らない</span>。
<br />- It's not necessarily the case that the cheaper the ticket, the better it is.
</p>

<p>For na-adjectives, since you can't use the 「ば」 conditional you have to resort to the <a href="conditional.html#part3.amount.html">「なら」 conditional</a>. Because it sounds
strange to use the 「なら」 conditional in this fashion, you will hardly ever see this grammar used with na-adjectives. Since 「ほど」 is treated as a noun, make sure
you don't forget to use 「な」 to attach the noun to the na-adjective.</p>

<p>（１）　<span title="ぶんしょう - sentence" class="popup">文章</span>は、<span title="みじかい - short" class="popup">短ければ</span><span title="みじかい - short" class="popup">短い</span>ほど、<em><span title="かんたん - simple" class="popup">簡単</span>なら<span title="かんたん - simple" class="popup">簡単</span>なほど</em><span title="よい - good" class="popup">よい</span>です。
<br />- The shorter and simpler the sentences, the better it is.
</p>



<h2 id="part9.amount.html">Using 「～さ」 with adjectives to indicate an amount</h2>
We will now learn how to add 「さ」 to adjectives to indicate an amount of that adjective. For example, we can attach 「さ」 to the adjective
for "high" in order to get "height". Instead of looking at the height,
we can even attach 「さ」 to the adjective for "low" to focus on the amount of lowness as opposed to the amount of highness. In fact,
there is nothing to stop us from using this with any adjective to indicate an amount of that adjective. The result becomes a regular noun
indicating the amount of that adjective.

<div class="sumbox">
<span class="summary">Adding 「～さ」 to adjectives to indicate an amount</span>
<ul class="plain">
<li><b>For i-adjectives</b>: First remove the trailing 「い」 from the i-adjective and then attach 「さ」</li>
<li>例）　<span title="たかい - tall; expensive" class="popup">高<em><strike>い</strike></em></span> → <span title="たかい - tall; expensive" class="popup">高<em>さ</em></span></li>
<li>例）　<span title="ひくい - low" class="popup">低<em><strike>い</strike></em></span> → <span title="ひくい - low" class="popup">低<em>さ</em></span></li>
<li><b>For na-adjectives</b>: Just attach 「さ」 to the end of the na-adjective</li>
<li>例）　<span title="おだやか - calm, quiet" class="popup">穏やか</span> → <span title="おだやか - calm, quiet" class="popup">穏やか<em>さ</em></span></li>
</ul>
The result becomes a regular noun.
</div>

<h3>Examples</h3>

<p>
（１）　<span title="この - this" class="popup">この</span><span title="ビル - building" class="popup">ビル</span>の<em><span title="たかい - tall; expensive" class="popup">高さ</span></em>は<span title="なん - what" class="popup">何</span>ですか？
<br />- What is the height of this building?
</p>

<p>
（２）　<span title="いぬ - dog" class="popup">犬</span>の<span title="ちょうかく - sense of hearing" class="popup">聴覚</span>の<em><span title="びんかん - sensitive" class="popup">敏感</span>さ</em>を<span title="にんげん - human" class="popup">人間</span>と<span title="くらべる - to compare" class="popup">比べる</span>と、<span title="はるか - far more" class="popup">はるか</span>に<span title="うえ - up; above" class="popup">上</span>だ。
<br />- If you compare the level of sensitivity of hearing of dogs to humans, it is far above.
</p>

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<p class="copyright">Copyright &copy; 2003-2007 Tae Kim (taekim.japanese AT gmail.com)</p>
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<a href="http://www.guidetojapanese.org/forum/viewforum.php?id=18">Report a correction or suggestion for this page</a>
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<div class="small" style="text-align:right;"><pre>This page has last been revised on 2006/6/24
Fixed 「なさそう」 examples to reflect only negatives (2006/2/18)
Added 「っきゃ」 to 「しか」 section (2006/6/24)
</pre>
</div>

<br class="break"/>
<h1>Like, I like anyone that looks like the likes of you</h1>

<br /><br /><br />

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
<tr><td>
<div class="outline">
<!-- outline menu -->
<center><span class="summary">Outline</span></center>
<ol>
<li><a href="#part1.similar.html">Expressing likeness, similarity or hearsay</a></li>
<li><a href="#part2.similar.html">Expressing similarity with <span title="よう - appearance, manner" class="popup">よう</span> （<span title="よう - appearance, manner" class="popup">様</span>）</a></li>
<li><a href="#part3.similar.html">Using 「みたい」 to say something looks like something else</a></li>
<li><a href="#part4.similar.html">Guessing at an outcome using 「～そう」</a></li>
<li><a href="#part5.similar.html">Expressing hearsay using 「～そうだ」</a></li>
<li><a href="#part6.similar.html">Expressing hearsay or behavior using 「～らしい」</a></li>
<li><a href="#part7.similar.html">「っぽい」: Slang expression of similarity</a></li>
</ol>
</div>
</td></tr>
</table>


<h2 id="part1.similar.html">Expressing likeness, similarity or hearsay</h2>
In Japanese there are many different ways to express likeness or similarity depending on appearance, behavior, or outcome.  When
learning these expressions for the first time, it is difficult to understand what the differences are between them because they all translate
to the same thing in English.  This lesson is designed to study the differences between
these expressions so that you can start to get a sense of which is appropriate for what you want to say.

<h2 id="part2.similar.html">Expressing similarity with <span title="よう - appearance, manner" class="popup">よう</span> （<span title="よう - appearance, manner" class="popup">様</span>）</h2>
We've already briefly gone over 「<span title="よう - appearance, manner" class="popup">よう</span>」 <a href="surunaru.html#part4.similar.html">here</a>.  We learned that 「<span title="よう - appearance, manner" class="popup">よう</span>」 means an appearance or
manner.  We can use this definition to say that something has an appearance or manner of a certain state.
This word can be used in many ways to express similarity.  The simplest example is by
directly modifying the subordinate clause.  When the sentence ends in 「<span title="よう - appearance, manner" class="popup">よう</span>」,
you must explicitly express the state of being by adding 「だ」, 「です」, or 「でございます」.

<p>（１）　<span title="ここ - here" class="popup">ここ</span>には、<span title="だれも - nobody" class="popup">誰も</span><span title="いる - to exist (animate)" class="popup">いない</span><em><span title="よう - appearance, manner" class="popup">よう</span>だ</em>。- Looks like no one is here.
<br />（２）　<span title="えいが - movie" class="popup">映画</span>を<span title="みる - to watch" class="popup">観た</span><em><span title="よう - appearance, manner" class="popup">よう</span>です</em>。- Looks like [he] watched the movie.
</p>

<p>When directly modifying nouns or na-adjectives, you must use the 「の」 particle for nouns or attach 「な」 to na-adjectives.
<br />（３）　<span title="がくせい - student" class="popup">学生</span><em>の</em><span title="よう - appearance, manner" class="popup">よう</span>だ。- Looks like it's a student.
<br />（４）　<span title="ここ - here" class="popup">ここ</span>は<span title="しずか - quiet" class="popup">静か</span><em>な</em><span title="よう - appearance, manner" class="popup">よう</span>だ。- Looks like it's quiet.
<br />Notice that （３） does not say that the person looks <i>like a student</i>.  Rather, the explicit state of being states
that the person appears to <i>be a student</i>.  On a side note, you can't say 「<span title="おいしい - tasty" class="popup">おいしい</span><span title="よう - appearance, manner" class="popup">よう</span>だ」 to say that something looks tasty.  This is like
saying, "This dish apparently is tasty," which can actually be kind of rude.
</p>

<p>You can also use it as a na-adjective to describe something that appears to be something else.
<br />（５）　<span title="あの - that" class="popup">あの</span><span title="ひと - person" class="popup">人</span>を<span title="みる - to see" class="popup">見た</span><span title="よう - appearance, manner" class="popup">よう</span><em>な</em>気がした。- Had a feeling like I saw that person before.
<br />（６）　<span title="かれ - he; boyfriend" class="popup">彼</span>は<span title="がくせい - student" class="popup">学生</span>の<span title="よう - appearance, manner" class="popup">よう</span><em>な</em><span title="ふんいき - atmosphere" class="popup">雰囲気</span>ですね。- He has a student-like atmosphere.
</p>

<p>Finally, we can attach the target particle to say things like, "I heard it like that" or "I said it like...".
<br />（７）　<span title="ちょっと - a little" class="popup">ちょっと</span><span title="おこる - to get angry" class="popup">怒った</span><span title="よう - appearance, manner" class="popup">よう</span><em>に</em><span title="きこえる - to be heard; to be audible" class="popup">聞こえた</span>。- Was able to hear it like (she) was a little mad.
<br />（８）　<span title="なにも - nothing" class="popup">何も</span><span title="おこる - to happen" class="popup">起こらなかった</span><span title="よう - appearance, manner" class="popup">よう</span><em>に</em><span title="いう - to say" class="popup">言った</span>。- Said (it) like nothing happened.
</p>

<h2 id="part3.similar.html">Using 「みたい」 to say something looks like something else</h2>
Another way to express similarity which is considered more casual is by using 「みたい」.  Do not confuse this with the <a href="desire.html#part2.similar.html">「たい」
conjugation</a> of 「<span title="みる - to see" class="popup">見る</span>」.
The main difference is that this 「みたい」 can be attached directly to nouns, adjectives, and verbs just like particles
which i-adjectives like 「～たい」 obviously can't do.  In addition, 「みたい」 conjugates like a noun or na-adjective.

<div class="sumbox">
<span class="summary">Using 「みたい」 to say something looks like something else</span>
<ul class="plain">
<li>Attach 「みたい」 to the noun that bears the resemblance.   「みたい」 conjugates like a noun or na-adjective and not an i-adjective.</li>
</ul>
<center>
<table border="1" cellpadding="5">
<caption>Conjugation Example with 「<span title="いぬ - dog" class="popup">犬</span>」</caption>
<tr align="center"><th></th><th colspan="2">Positive</th><th colspan="2">Negative</th></tr>

<tr align="center"><th>Non-Past</th><td><span title="いぬ - dog" class="popup">犬</span>みたい</td><td>Looks like a dog</td><td><span title="いぬ - dog" class="popup">犬</span>みたい<em>じゃない</em></td><td>Doesn't look like a dog</td></tr>
<tr align="center"><th>Past</th><td><span title="いぬ - dog" class="popup">犬</span>みたい<em>だった</em></td><td>Looked like a dog</td><td><span title="いぬ - dog" class="popup">犬</span>みたい<em>じゃなかった</em></td><td>Didn't look like a dog</td></tr>

</table>
</center>

</div>

<h3>Examples</h3>
（１）　<span title="もう - already" class="popup">もう</span><span title="うりきれ - sold-out" class="popup">売り切れ</span><em>みたい</em>。- Looks like it's sold out already.
<br />（２）　<span title="せいふく - uniform" class="popup">制服</span>を<span title="きる - to wear" class="popup">着ている</span><span title="すがた - figure" class="popup">姿</span>を<span title="みる - to see" class="popup">みる</span>と、<span title="がくせい - student" class="popup">学生</span><em>みたい</em>です。- Looking at the uniform-wearing figure, (person) looks like a student.


<p>
The implied meaning here is the person wearing the uniform is not really a student because he/she only <i>looks</i> like a student.
This is different from （３） of the previous 「<span title="よう - appearance, manner" class="popup">よう</span>」 section which implied that the person appears to be (but might not be) a student.  Again, we also can't say
「<span title="おいしい - tasty" class="popup">おいしい</span>みたい」 to say that something looks tasty because it implies that, in actuality, the food might not be so good. Similarly, you would
never say 「<span title="かわいい - cute" class="popup">かわいい</span>みたい」 to say that something looks cute.
</p>

<p>Don't forget that 「みたい」 does not conjugate like the 「～たい」 form or i-adjectives.
<br />（誤）　<span title="この - this" class="popup">この</span><span title="ピザ - pizza" class="popup">ピザ</span>は<span title="おこのみやき - Japanese-style pancake" class="popup">お好み焼き</span>みた<em><strike>くない</strike></em>？- (みたい conjugates like a na-adjective.)
<br />（３）　<span title="この - this" class="popup">この</span><span title="ピザ - pizza" class="popup">ピザ</span>は<span title="おこのみやき - Japanese-style pancake" class="popup">お好み焼き</span>みたい<em>じゃない</em>？- Doesn't this pizza looks like okonomiyaki?
</p>

<p>Though you probably won't use it very often, here are examples of the past and past-negative.
<br />（４）　<span title="きっさてん - cafe" class="popup">喫茶店</span>に<span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行く</span>みたい<em>だった</em>。- It looked like (we) were going to a coffee shop.
<br />（５）　<span title="ひみつ - secret" class="popup">秘密</span>を<span title="おしえる - to teach" class="popup">教えて</span><span title="くれる - to give" class="popup">くれる</span>みたい<em>じゃなかった</em>？ - It didn't look like (she) was going to tell the secret?
</p>

<p>「みたい」 is really a grammar only used in conversation.
Do not use it in essays, articles, anything that needs to sound authoritative.  You can use 「<span title="よう - appearance, manner" class="popup">よう</span>」 instead in the following fashion.
<br />（６）　<span title="もう - already" class="popup">もう</span><span title="うりきれ - sold-out" class="popup">売り切れ</span>の<em><span title="よう - appearance, manner" class="popup">よう</span>だ</em>。- It appears that it is sold-out already.
<br />（７）　<span title="この - this" class="popup">この</span><span title="ピザ - pizza" class="popup">ピザ</span>は<span title="おこのみやき - Japanese-style pancake" class="popup">お好み焼き</span>の<em><span title="よう - appearance, manner" class="popup">よう</span></em>に<span title="みえる - to be in sight; to appear" class="popup">見える</span>。- This pizza looks like okonomiyaki.
</p>

<h2 id="part4.similar.html">Guessing at an outcome using 「～そう」</h2>
The problem with English is that the expression, "seems like" has too many meanings.  It can mean similarity in appearance, similarity in
behavior or even that current evidence points to a likely outcome.  We will now learn how to say the third meaning; how to indicate a
likely outcome given the situation.

<p>Just like the grammar we have learned so far in this lesson, we can use this grammar by simply attaching 「そう」 to the end of verbs,
and adjectives.  However, there are four important different cases. Actually, I just noticed this but the conjugation rules are exactly
the same as the <a href="amount.html#part6.similar.html">「～<span title="すぎる - to exeed; to pass" class="popup">すぎる</span>」 grammar</a> we learned in the last section.
The only difference is that for the adjective 「<span title="いい  - good" class="popup">いい</span>」, you need to change it to 「<span title="いい  - good" class="popup">よさ</span>」 before attaching 「そう」 to create 「<span title="いい  - good" class="popup">よさそう</span>」.
</p>

 <div class="sumbox">
 <span class="summary">Rules for conjugation</span>
<ol>
<li>Verbs must be changed to the <a href="polite.html#part2.similar.html"><i>stem</i></a>.</li>
<li>The 「い」 in i-adjectives must be dropped except for 「<span title="いい  - good" class="popup">いい</span>」.</li>
<li>「<span title="いい  - good" class="popup">いい</span>」 must first be conjugated to 「<span title="いい  - good" class="popup">よさ</span>」</li>
<li>For all negative tenses, the 「い」 must be replaced with 「さ」.</li>
<li>This grammar does not work with plain nouns.</li>
</ol>
</div>

<h3>1. Verb must be changed to the stem.</h3>
<p>
For ru-verbs, remove the 「る」
</p>
<p>
（１）　<span title="バランス - balance" class="popup">バランス</span>が<span title="くずれる - to collapse; to break down" class="popup">崩れて</span>、<span title="いっしゅん - an instant" class="popup">一瞬</span><em><span title="たおれる - to collapse" class="popup">倒れ</span></em>そうだった。
<br />- Losing my balance, I seemed likely to fall for a moment.
</p>


<p>
For u-verbs, change the / u / vowel sound to an / i / vowel sound
</p>
<p>
（２）　<span title="この - this" class="popup">この</span><span title="あたり - vicinity" class="popup">辺り</span>に<em><span title="ある - to exist (inanimate)" class="popup">あり</span></em>そうだけどな。
<br />- It seems likely that it would be around here but...
</p>

<h3>2. The 「い」 in i-adjectives must be dropped.</h3>
<p>
In the next example, the 「い」 has been dropped from 「<span title="おいしい - tasty" class="popup">おいしい</span>」.
</p>
<p>
（１）　<span title="この - this" class="popup">この</span><span title="つけもの - pickled vegetables" class="popup">漬物</span>は<em><span title="おいしい - tasty" class="popup">おいし</span></em>そう！
<br />- I bet this pickled vegetable is tasty! (This pickled vegetable looks good!)
</p>

<p>
<b>Exception</b>: <u>The only exception to this rule is the adjective 「<span title="いい  - good" class="popup">いい</span>」.  When using this grammar with 「<span title="いい  - good" class="popup">いい</span>」, you must first change it to 「よさ」.</u>
</p>
<p>
（２）　<span title="これ - this" class="popup">これ</span>も<span title="けっこう - fairly" class="popup">結構</span><em><span title="いい - good" class="popup">よさ</span>そう</em>だけど、<span title="やっぱり - as expected, as I thought" class="popup">やっぱり</span><span title="たかい - tall; expensive" class="popup">高い</span>よね。
<br />- This one also seems to be good but, as expected, it's expensive, huh?
</p>

<p>
Nothing needs to be done for na-adjectives.
</p>
<p>
（３）　<span title="おまえ - you" class="popup">お前</span>なら、<span title="きんぱつ - blond hair" class="popup">金髪</span>の<span title="おんな - woman" class="popup">女</span>が<em><span title="すき - likable, desirable" class="popup">好き</span></em>そうだな。
<br />- Knowing you, I bet you like blond-haired girls.
</p>

<h3>3. For all negative tenses, the 「い」 must be replaced with 「さ」.</h3>
<p>
The negative of 「<span title="くる - to come" class="popup">来る</span>」 is 「<span title="くる - to come" class="popup">こない</span>」 so when used with 「～そう」, it becomes 「<span title="くる - to come" class="popup">こなさ</span>そう」.
</p>
<p>
（１）　<span title="もう - already" class="popup">もう</span><span title="じゅうじ - 10 o'clock" class="popup">10時</span>に<span title="なる - to become" class="popup">なった</span>から、<em><span title="くる - to come" class="popup">来なさ</span>そう</em>だね。
<br />- Since it already became 10:00, it's likely that (person) won't come.
</p>
<p>
（２）　<span title="これ - this" class="popup">これ</span>は<span title="ただ - mere" class="popup">ただ</span>の<span title="しあい - match, game" class="popup">試合</span><em>じゃなさそうだ</em>。
<br />- This isn't likely to be an ordinary match.
</p>

<p>
Identical to the <a href="amount.html#part6.similar.html">「～<span title="すぎる - to exeed; to pass" class="popup">すぎる</span>」 grammar</a>, i-adjectives that are derived from the negative 「～ない」
like 「<span title="もったいない - wasteful" class="popup">もったいない</span>」 or 「<span title="なさけない - pitiable" class="popup">情けない</span>」 also follow this rule as well (which would be 「<span title="もったいない - wasteful" class="popup">もったいなさ</span>そう」 and 「<span title="なさけない - pitiable" class="popup">情けなさ</span>そう」 in this case).
</p>

<h3>4. This grammar does not work with plain nouns.</h3>
<p>
（誤）　<span title="その - that" class="popup">その</span><span title="ひと - person" class="popup">人</span>は<span title="がくせい - student" class="popup">学生</span><em><strike>そう</strike></em>。
</p>
<p>
There are <a href="certainty.html">other grammars</a> we have already covered that can be used to indicate that something is likely to be something else.
</p>
<p>
（１）　<span title="その - that" class="popup">その</span><span title="ひと - person" class="popup">人</span>は<span title="がくせい - student" class="popup">学生</span><em>でしょう</em>。
<br />- That person is probably student.
</p>
<p>
（２）　<span title="その - that" class="popup">その</span><span title="ひと - person" class="popup">人</span>は<span title="がくせい - student" class="popup">学生</span><em>だろう</em>。
<br />- That person is probably student.
</p>

<p>
Be careful never to use 「<span title="かわいい - cute" class="popup">かわいい</span>」 with this grammar.  「<span title="かわいそう - poor thing" class="popup">かわいそう</span>」 is a completely different word used when you feel sorry for something
or someone. 「<span title="かわいい - cute" class="popup">かわいい</span>」 means, "to look cute" already so you never need to use any of the grammar in this lesson to say something looks cute.
</p>

<p>
（１）　<span title="この - this" class="popup">この</span><span title="いぬ - dog" class="popup">犬</span>は<span title="かわいそう - poor thing" class="popup">かわいそう</span>。
<br />- Oh, this poor dog.
</p>

<p>
（２）　<span title="この - this" class="popup">この</span><span title="いぬ - dog" class="popup">犬</span>は<span title="かわいい - cute" class="popup">かわいい</span>。<br />- This dog is cute.
</p>

<h2 id="part5.similar.html">Expressing hearsay using 「～そうだ」</h2>
The reason that there are so many annoying rules to using 「～そう」 is to distinguish it from this next grammar we will learn.
This is a useful grammar for talking about things you heard that doesn't necessary have anything to do with how you yourself, think or feel.
Unlike the last grammar we learned, you can simply attach 「そうだ」 to verbs and i-adjectives.  For na-adjectives and nouns,
you must indicate the state of being by adding 「だ」 to the noun/na-adjective.  Also, notice that 「そう」 itself must always end in 「だ」、「です」、or 「でございます」.
These differences are what distinguishes this grammar from the one we learned in the last section.  There are no tenses for this grammar.

<p>（１）　<span title="あした - tomorrow" class="popup">明日</span>、<span title="あめ - rain" class="popup">雨</span>が<span title="ふる - to precipitate" class="popup">降る</span><em>そうだ</em>。- I hear that it's going to rain tomorrow.
<br />（２）　<span title="まいにち - every day" class="popup">毎日</span><span title="あう - to meet" class="popup">会い</span>に<span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行った</span><em>そうです</em>。- I heard he went to meet everyday.
</p>

<p>Don't forget to add 「だ」 for nouns or na-adjectives.
<br />（３）　<span title="かれ - he; boyfriend" class="popup">彼</span>は、<span title="こうこうせい - high school student" class="popup">高校生</span><em>だ</em>そうです。- I hear that he is a high school student.
</p>

<p>
When starting the
sentence with this grammar, you also need to add 「だ」 just like you do with 「<a href="compound.html#part4.similar.html">だから</a>」
<br />（１）　<span title="きょう - today" class="popup">今日</span>、<span title="たなか - Tanaka" class="popup">田中</span><span title="さん - polite name suffix" class="popup">さん</span>は<span title="くる - to come" class="popup">こない</span>の？- Is Tanaka-san not coming today?
<br />（２）　<em>だそうです</em>。- So I hear.
</p>

<h2 id="part6.similar.html">Expressing hearsay or behavior using 「～らしい」</h2>
「らしい」 can be directly attached to nouns, adjectives, or verbs to show that things appear to be a certain way due to what you've heard.
This is different from 「～そうだ」because 「～そうだ」 indicates something you heard about specifically while 「らしい」 means things seem to be a
certain way based on some things you heard about the subject.  「らしい」 conjugates like a normal i-adjective.

<p>（Ａ）　<span title="きょう - today" class="popup">今日</span>、<span title="たなか - Tanaka" class="popup">田中</span><span title="さん - polite name suffix" class="popup">さん</span>は<span title="くる - to come" class="popup">こない</span>の？- Is Tanaka-san not coming today?
<br />（Ｂ）　<span title="くる - to come" class="popup">こない</span><em>らしい</em>。- Seems like it (based on what I heard).
</p>

<p>（Ａ）　<span title="あの - that" class="popup">あの</span><span title="ひと - person" class="popup">人</span>は<span title="なん - what" class="popup">何</span>なの？- What is that person over there?
<br />（Ｂ）　<span title="みゆき - Miyuki" class="popup">美由紀</span><span title="さん - polite name suffix" class="popup">さん</span>の<span title="ともだち - friend" class="popup">友達</span><em>らしい</em>ですよ。- Seems to be Miyuki-san's friend (based on what I heard).
</p>

<p>Another way to use 「らしい」 is to indicate that a person seems to be a certain thing due to his behavior.
<br />（１）　<span title="あの - that" class="popup">あの</span><span title="こ - child" class="popup">子</span>は<span title="こども - child" class="popup">子供</span><em>らしくない</em>。- That child does not act like a child.
<br />（２）　<span title="おとな - adult" class="popup">大人</span><em>らしく</em><span title="する - to do" class="popup">する</span><span title="つもり - plan, intention" class="popup">つもり</span>だったのに、<span title="おおさわぎ - clamor, uproar" class="popup">大騒ぎ</span><span title="する - to do" class="popup">して</span>しまった。- Despite the fact that I planned to act like an adult, I ended up making a big ruckus.
</p>

<h2 id="part7.similar.html">「っぽい」: Slang expression of similarity</h2>
A really casual way to express similarity is to attach 「っぽい」 to the word that reflects the resemblance.  Because this is a very casual
expression, you can use it as a casual version for all the different types of expression for similarity covered above.

<p>
「 っぽい」 conjugates just like an i-adjective, as seen by example （３） below.
</p>

<p>（１）　<span title="あの - that" class="popup">あの</span><span title="ひと - person" class="popup">人</span>は<span title="ちょっと - a little" class="popup">ちょっと</span><span title="かんこくじん - Korean person" class="popup">韓国人</span><em>っぽい</em>よね。- That person looks like a Korean person, huh?
<br />（２）　<span title="みんな - everybody" class="popup">みんな</span>で、<span title="もう - already" class="popup">もう</span><span title="ぜんぶ - all" class="popup">全部</span><span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べて</span>しまった<em>っぽい</em>よ。- It appears that everybody ate everything already.
<br />（３）　<span title="きょうこ - Kyouko" class="popup">恭子</span>は<span title="ぜんぜん - not at all" class="popup">全然</span><span title="おんな - woman" class="popup">女</span><em>っぽくない</em>ね。- Kyouko is not womanly at all, huh?
</p>

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<p class="copyright">Copyright &copy; 2003-2007 Tae Kim (taekim.japanese AT gmail.com)</p>
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<a href="http://www.guidetojapanese.org/forum/viewforum.php?id=18">Report a correction or suggestion for this page</a>
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<div class="small" style="text-align:right;"><pre>This page has last been revised on 2006/2/18
Revised explanation for ｢らしい」 (2005/4/26)
Fixed 「なさそう」 examples to reflect only negatives (2006/2/18)</pre>
</div>

<br class="break"/>
<h1>Compare and Contrast</h1>

<br /><br /><br />

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
<tr><td>
<div class="outline">
<!-- outline menu -->
<center><span class="summary">Outline</span></center>
<ol>
<li><a href="#part1.compare.html">Various uses of 「<span title="ほう - direction, side; かた - person, way of doing" class="popup">方</span>」 and 「よる」</a></li>
<li><a href="#part2.compare.html">Using 「<span title="ほう - direction, side; かた - person, way of doing" class="popup">方</span>」 for comparisons</a></li>
<li><a href="#part3.compare.html">Using 「より」 for comparisons</a></li>
<li><a href="#part4.compare.html">Using 「<span title="ほう - direction, side; かた - person, way of doing" class="popup">方</span>」 to express a way to do something</a></li>
<li><a href="#part5.compare.html">Using 「によって」 to express dependency</a></li>
<li><a href="#part6.compare.html">Indicating a source of information using 「によると」</a></li>
</ol>
</div>
</td></tr>
</table>


<h2 id="part1.compare.html">Various uses of 「<span title="ほう - direction, side; かた - person, way of doing" class="popup">方</span>」 and 「よる」</h2>
If you were wondering how to make comparison in Japanese, well wonder no more.  We will learn how to use 「<span title="ほう - direction, side; かた - person, way of doing" class="popup">方</span>」 and 「より」 to make
comparisons between two things.  We will also learn other uses of 「<span title="ほう - direction, side; かた - person, way of doing" class="popup">方</span>」 and 「よる」 along the way.

<h2 id="part2.compare.html">Using 「<span title="ほう - direction, side; かた - person, way of doing" class="popup">方</span>」 for comparisons</h2>
The noun 「<span title="ほう - direction, side; かた - person, way of doing" class="popup">方</span>」 is read as 「ほう」 when it is used to mean a direction or orientation.
It can also be read as 「かた」 when it is used as a politer version of 「<span title="ひと - person" class="popup">人</span>」.  But
that's neither here nor there.  When we use 「<span title="ほう - direction, side; かた - person, way of doing" class="popup">方</span>」 to mean
direction, we can use it for comparison by saying one way of things is better, worse, etc., than the other way.
Grammatically, it works just like any other regular nouns.

<h3>Examples</h3>
Use it with nouns by utilizing the 「の」 particle.
<br />（１）　<span title="ごはん - cooked rice; meal" class="popup">ご飯</span><em>の<span title="ほう - direction, side" class="popup">方</span></em>が<span title="おいしい - tasty" class="popup">おいしい</span>。- Rice is tastier. (lit: The way of rice is tasty.)
<br />（２）　<span title="すずき - Suzuki" class="popup">鈴木</span><span title="さん - polite name suffix" class="popup">さん</span><em>の<span title="ほう - direction, side" class="popup">方</span></em>が<span title="わかい - young" class="popup">若い</span>。- Suzuki-san is younger. (lit: The way of Suzuki is young.)

<p>Grammatically, it's no different from a regular noun.
<br />（３）　<em><span title="がくせい - student" class="popup">学生</span>じゃない</em><span title="ほう - direction, side" class="popup">方</span>が<span title="いい - good" class="popup">いい</span>よ。- It's better to not be a student. (lit: The way of not being student is good.)
<br />（４）　<span title="あかちゃん - baby" class="popup">赤ちゃん</span>は、<em><span title="しずか - quiet" class="popup">静か</span>な</em><span title="ほう - direction, side" class="popup">方</span>が<span title="すき - desirable" class="popup">好き</span>。- Like quiet babies more. (lit: About babies, the quiet way is desirable.)
</p>

<p>The tricky part of making comparisons with verb is the use of tenses.  For absolutely no reason, non-negative verbs must always be
past tense.
<br />（５）　<span title="ゆっくり - slowly" class="popup">ゆっくり</span><em><span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べた</span></em><span title="ほう - direction, side" class="popup">方</span>が<span title="けんこう - health" class="popup">健康</span>に<span title="いい - good" class="popup">いい</span>よ。- It's better for your health to eat slowly.
<br />（６）　<span title="こちら - this way" class="popup">こちら</span>から<em><span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行った</span></em><span title="ほう - direction, side" class="popup">方</span>が<span title="はやい - fast; early" class="popup">早かった</span>。- It was faster to go from this way.
</p>

<p>
The same thing does <u>not</u> apply for negative verbs.
<br />（７）　<span title="マトリックス・レボリューション - Matrix Revolution" class="popup">マトリックス・レボリューション</span>を<em><span title="みる - to watch" class="popup">観ない</span></em><span title="ほう - direction, side" class="popup">方</span>が<span title="いい - good" class="popup">いい</span>よ。- It's better not to watch "Matrix Revolution".
</p>

<p>The negative verb is only in the past tense when the comparison is of something that happened in the past.
<br />（８）　<span title="そんな - like that" class="popup">そんな</span>に<em><span title="のむ - to drink" class="popup">飲まなかった</span></em><span title="ほう - direction, side" class="popup">方</span>が<em><span title="いい - good" class="popup">よかった</span></em>。- It was better not to have drunk that much.
</p>

<h2 id="part3.compare.html">Using 「より」 for comparisons</h2>
You can think of 「より」 as being the opposite of 「<span title="ほう - direction, side">方</span>」.  It means, "rather than" or "as opposed to".  It attaches directly to the back of any word.
It is usually used in conjunction with 「<span title="ほう - direction, side" class="popup">方</span>」 to say something like, "This way is better as opposed to that way."

<h3>Examples</h3>
（１）　<span title="はな - flower" class="popup">花</span>より<span title="だんご - rice dumpling" class="popup">団子</span>。
<br />- Dango rather than flowers.  (This is a very famous proverb.)

<p>
（２）　<span title="ごはん - cooked rice; meal" class="popup">ご飯</span>の<span title="ほう - direction, side" class="popup">方</span>が、<em><span title="パン - bread" class="popup">パン</span>より</em><span title="おいしい - tasty" class="popup">おいしい</span>。
<br />- Rice tastes better than bread. (lit: The rice way is tasty as opposed to bread.)
</p>

<p>
（３）　<em><span title="キム - Kim" class="popup">キム</span><span title="さん - polite name suffix" class="popup">さん</span>より</em><span title="すずき - Suzuki" class="popup">鈴木</span><span title="さん - polite name suffix" class="popup">さん</span>の<span title="ほう - direction, side" class="popup">方</span>が<span title="わかい - young" class="popup">若い</span>。
<br />- Suzuki-san is younger than Kim-san.  (lit: The way of Suzuki is young as opposed to Kim-san.)
</p>

<p>For those curious about the meaning of the proverb, dango is a sweet doughy treat usually sold at festivals.  The proverb is saying that
people prefer this treat to watching the flowers, referring to the 「<span title="はなみ - cherry-blossom viewing" class="popup">花見</span>」 event where people go out to see the cherry blossoms (and get smashed).
The deeper meaning of the proverb, like all good proverbs, depends on how you apply it.
</p>

<p>Of course, there is no rule that 「より」 must be used with 「<span title="ほう - direction, side; かた - person, way of doing" class="popup">方</span>」. The other way of things can be gleaned from context.
<br />（<span title="すずき - Suzuki" class="popup">鈴木</span>）　<span title="まいにち - every day" class="popup">毎日</span><span title="しごと - work" class="popup">仕事</span>に<span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行く</span>のが<span title="いや - disagreeable, unpleasant" class="popup">嫌</span>だ。- I don't like going to work everyday.
<br />（スミス）　<span title="しごと - work" class="popup">仕事</span>が<span title="ある - to exist (inanimate)" class="popup">ない</span><em>より</em><span title="まし - not as bad" class="popup">まし</span>だよ。- It's not as bad as opposed to not having a job.
</p>

<p>Words associated with 「より」 do not need any tense.  Notice in the following sentence that 「<span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べる</span>」 in front of 「より」 is present tense even
though 「<span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べる</span>」 in front of 「<span title="ほう - direction, side; かた - person, way of doing" class="popup">方</span>」 is past tense.
<br />（１）　<span title="ゆっくり - slowly" class="popup">ゆっくり</span><em><span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べた</span></em><span title="ほう - direction, side" class="popup">方</span>が<span title="はやい - fast; early" class="popup">早く</span><em><span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べる</span></em>より<span title="いい - good" class="popup">いい</span>。- It is better to eat slowly as opposed to eating quickly.
</p>


<h3>Using 「より」 as a superlative</h3>
You can also use 「より」 with question words such as 「<span title="だれ - who" class="popup">誰</span>」、「<span title="なに - what" class="popup">何</span>」、or
「<span title="どこ - where" class="popup">どこ</span>」 to make a superlative by comparing with everything or everybody else. In this case, though not required, it
is common to include the 「も」 particle.

<h3>Examples</h3>
<p>
（１）　<span title="しょうひん - product" class="popup">商品</span>の<span title="ひんしつ - quality of a good" class="popup">品質</span>を<span title="なに - what" class="popup">何</span>より<span title="たいせつ - important" class="popup">大切</span>に<span title="する - to do" class="popup">しています</span>。
<br />- We place value in product's quality over anything else.
</p>

<p>
（２）　<span title="この - this" class="popup">この</span><span title="しごと - work" class="popup">仕事</span>は<span title="だれ - who" class="popup">誰</span>よりも<span title="はやい - fast; early" class="popup">早く</span><span title="できる - to be able to do" class="popup">できます</span>。
<br />- Can do this job more quickly than anyone else.
</p>

<h2 id="part4.compare.html">Using 「<span title="ほう - direction, side; かた - person, way of doing" class="popup">方</span>」 to express a way to do something</h2>
You can also attach 「<span title="ほう - direction, side; かた - person, way of doing" class="popup">方</span>」 to the stem of verbs to express a way to do that verb.  In this usage, 「<span title="ほう - direction, side; かた - person, way of doing" class="popup">方</span>」 is read as 「かた」 and the result becomes a
noun.  For example, 「<span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行き</span><span title="かた - person, way of doing" class="popup">方</span>」（いきかた） means, "the way to go" or 「<span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べ</span><span title="かた - person, way of doing" class="popup">方</span>」（たべかた）means, "the way to eat".  This expression is probably what you want to use
when you want to ask how to do something.

<h3>Examples</h3>

<p>
（１）　<span title="しんじゅく - Shinjuku" class="popup">新宿</span>の<em><span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行き</span><span title="かた - person, way of doing" class="popup">方</span></em>は<span title="わかる - to know; to understand" class="popup">分かります</span>か。
<br />- Do you know the way to go to Shinjuku?
</p>

<p>
（２）　<span title="そういう - that type of" class="popup">そういう</span><em><span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べ</span><span title="かた - person, way of doing" class="popup">方</span></em>は<span title="からだ - body" class="popup">体</span>に<span title="いい - good" class="popup">よくない</span>よ。
<br />- Eating in that way is not good for your body.
</p>

<p>
（３）　<span title="かんじ - Kanji" class="popup">漢字</span>の<em><span title="かく - to write" class="popup">書き</span><span title="かた - person, way of doing" class="popup">方</span></em>を<span title="おしえる - to teach" class="popup">教えて</span><span title="くれる - to give" class="popup">くれます</span>か？
<br />- Can you teach me the way of writing kanji?
</p>

<p>
（４）　<span title="パソコン - personal computer" class="popup">パソコン</span>の<em><span title="つかう - to use" class="popup">使い</span><span title="かた - person, way of doing" class="popup">方</span></em>は、<span title="みんな - everybody" class="popup">みんな</span><span title="しる - to know" class="popup">知っている</span>でしょう。
<br />- Probably everybody knows the way to use PC's.
</p>

<p>When verbs are transformed to this form, the result becomes a noun clause. Sometimes, this requires a change of particles. For instance, while 「<span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行く</span>」 usually
involves a target (the 「に」 or 「へ」 particle), since
「<span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行き</span><span title="かた - person, way of doing" class="popup">方</span>」 is a noun clause,
（１） becomes 「<span title="しんじゅく - Shinjuku" class="popup">新宿</span><em>の</em><span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行き</span><span title="かた - person, way of doing" class="popup">方</span>」
instead of the familiar 「<span title="しんじゅく - Shinjuku" class="popup">新宿</span><em>に</em><span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行く</span>」.
</p>

<h2 id="part5.compare.html">Using 「によって」 to express dependency</h2>
When you want to say, "depending on [X]", you can do this in Japanese by simply attaching 「によって」 to [X].

<h3>Examples</h3>

<p>
（１）　<em><span title="ひと - person" class="popup">人</span>によって</em><span title="はなし - story" class="popup">話</span>が<span title="ちがう - to differ" class="popup">違う</span>。
<br />- The story is different depending on the person.
</p>

<p>
（２）　<em><span title="きせつ - season" class="popup">季節</span>によって</em><span title="くだもの - fruit" class="popup">果物</span>は<span title="おいしい - tasty" class="popup">おいしく</span><span title="なる - to become" class="popup">なったり</span>、<span title="まずい - unpleasant" class="popup">まずく</span><span title="なる - to become" class="popup">なったり</span><span title="する - to do" class="popup">する</span>。
<br />- Fruit becomes tasty or nasty depending on the season.
</p>

<p>This is simply the <a href="compound.html#part3.compare.html">te-form</a> of 「よる」 as seen by the following simple exchange.
<br />（<span title="かずこ - Kazuko" class="popup">和子</span>）　<span title="きょう - today" class="popup">今日</span>は<span title="のむ - to drink" class="popup">飲み</span>に<span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行こう</span>か？- Shall we go drinking today?
<br />（<span title="だいき - Daiki" class="popup">大樹</span>）　<span title="それ - that" class="popup">それ</span>は、<span title="ゆうこ - Yuuko" class="popup">裕子</span>に<em>よる</em>ね。- That depends on Yuuko.
</p>

<h2 id="part6.compare.html">Indicating a source of information using 「によると」</h2>
Another expression using 「よる」 is by using it with the target and the <a href="conditional.html#part2.compare.html">decided conditional</a> 「と」 to indicate a source of information.  In English, this would
translate to "according to [X]" where 「によると」 is attached to [X].

<h3>Examples</h3>
（１）　<em><span title="てんき - weather" class="popup">天気</span><span title="よほう - forecast" class="popup">予報</span>によると</em>、<span title="きょう - today" class="popup">今日</span>は<span title="あめ - rain" class="popup">雨</span>だそうだ。
<br />- According to the weather forecast, I hear today is rain.

<p>（２）　<span title="ともだち - friend" class="popup">友達</span>の<em><span title="はなし - story" class="popup">話</span>によると</em>、<span title="ともこ - Tomoko" class="popup">朋子</span>は<span title="やっと - at last" class="popup">やっと</span><span title="ボーイフレンド - boyfriend" class="popup">ボーイフレンド</span>を<span title="みつける - to find" class="popup">見つけた</span>らしい。
<br />- According to a friend's story, it appears that Tomoko finally found a boyfriend.
</p>

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<div class="small" style="text-align:right;"><pre>This page has last been revised on 2005/1/5</pre></div>

<br class="break"/>
<h1>Easy or Hard?</h1>

<br /><br /><br />

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
<tr><td>
<div class="outline">
<!-- outline menu -->
<center><span class="summary">Outline</span></center>
<ol>
<li><a href="#part1.easyhard.html">Saying something is easy or hard to do</a></li>
<li><a href="#part2.easyhard.html">Variations of 「～にくい」 with 「～がたい」 and  「～づらい」</a></li>
</ol>
</div>
</td></tr>
</table>


<h2 id="part1.easyhard.html">Saying something is easy or hard to do</h2>
This is a short easy lesson on how to transform verbs into adjectives describing whether that action is easy or difficult to do.  Basically,
it consists of changing the verb into the stem and adding 「やすい」 for easy and 「にくい」 for hard.  The result then becomes a regular i-adjective.
Pretty easy, huh?


<div class="sumbox">
<span class="summary">Using 「～やすい、～にくい」 to describe easy and difficult actions</span>
<ul class="plain">
<li>To describe an action as being easy, change the verb to the <a href="polite.html">stem</a> and add 「やすい」. To describe an action as being difficult, attach 「にくい」 to the <a href="polite.html#part2.easyhard.html">stem</a>.</li>
<li>例）　ru-verb: <span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べ<em><strike>る</strike></em></span> → <span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べ</span><em>やすい</em> </li>
<li>例）　u-verb: <span title="しゃべる - to talk" class="popup">しゃべ<em><strike>る</strike></em></span> → <span title="しゃべる - to talk" class="popup">しゃべ<em>り</em></span> → <span title="しゃべる - to talk" class="popup">しゃべり</span><em>にくい</em> </li>
</ul>

<center>
<table border="1" cellpadding="5">
<caption>The result becomes a regular i-adjective.</caption>
<tr align="center"><th></th><th>Positive</th><th>Negative</th></tr>
<tr align="center"><th>Non-Past</th><td><span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べ</span>にく<em>い</em></td><td><span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べ</span>にく<em>くない</em></td></tr>
<tr align="center"><th>Past</th><td><span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べ</span>にく<em>かった</em></td><td><span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べ</span>にく<em>くなかった</em></td></tr>
</table>
</center>

</div>
<h3>Examples</h3>

<p>
（１）　<span title="この - this" class="popup">この</span><span title="じ - character; hand-writing" class="popup">字</span>は<em><span title="よむ - to read" class="popup">読み</span>にくい</em>
<br />- This hand-writing is hard to read.
</p>

<p>
（２）　<span title="カクテル - cocktail" class="popup">カクテル</span>は<span title="ビール - beer" class="popup">ビール</span>より<em><span title="のむ - to drink" class="popup">飲み</span>やすい</em>。
<br />- Cocktails are easier to drink than beer.
</p>

<p>
（３）　<span title="へや - room" class="popup">部屋</span>が<span title="くらい - dark" class="popup">暗かった</span>ので、<em><span title="みる - to see" class="popup">見</span>にくかった</em>。
<br />- Since the room was dark, it was hard to see.
</p>

<p>As an aside: Be careful with 「<span title="みる - to see" class="popup">見</span>にくい」 because 「<span title="みにくい - ugly" class="popup">醜い</span>」 is a rarely used adjective meaning, "ugly". I wonder if it's just coincidence that
"difficult to see" and "ugly" sound exactly the same?
</p>

<p>Of course, you can always use some other grammatical structure that we have already learned to express the same thing using
appropriate adjectives such as 「<span title="むずかしい - difficult" class="popup">難しい</span>」、「<span title="やさしい - easy" class="popup">易しい</span>」、
「<span title="かんたん - simple" class="popup">簡単</span>」、「<span title="ようい - simple" class="popup">容易</span>」、etc.
The following two sentences are essentially identical in meaning.
</p>

<p>
（１）　<span title="あの - that over there" class="popup">あの</span><span title="にく - meat" class="popup">肉</span>は<em><span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べ</span>にくい</em>。
<br />- That meat is hard to eat.
</p>
<p>
（２）　<span title="あの - that over there" class="popup">あの</span><span title="にく - meat" class="popup">肉</span>を<em><span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べる</span>のは<span title="むずかしい - difficult" class="popup">難しい</span></em>。
<br />- The thing of eating that meat is difficult.
</p>

<h2 id="part2.easyhard.html">Variations of 「～にくい」 with 「～がたい」 and  「～づらい」</h2>
The kanji for 「にくい」 actually comes from 「<span title="にくい／かたい - difficult" class="popup">難い</span>」 which can also be read as 「かたい」. As a result, you can
also add a voiced version 「～がたい」 as a verb suffix to express the same thing as 「にくい」. 「にくい」 is more common for speaking while 「がたい」 is more suited for the
written medium. 「にくい」 tends to be used for physical actions while 「がたい」 is usually reserved for less physical actions that don't actually require movement.
However, there seems to be no hard rule on which is more appropriate for a given verb so I suggest searching for both versions in google to ascertain the popularity of a
given combination. You should also always write the suffix in hiragana to prevent ambiguities in the reading.

<h3>Examples</h3>
<p>
（１）　<span title="かれ - he; boyfriend" class="popup">彼</span>との<em><span title="わすれる - to forget" class="popup">忘れ</span>がたい</em><span title="おもいで - memories" class="popup">思い出</span>を<span title="たいせつ - important" class="popup">大切</span>に<span title="する - to do" class="popup">している</span>。
<br />- I am treating importantly the hard to forget memories of and with him.
</p>
<p>
（２）　<span title="とても - very" class="popup">とても</span><em><span title="しんじる - to believe" class="popup">信じ</span>がたい</em><span title="はなし - story" class="popup">話</span>だが、<span title="ほんとう - really" class="popup">本当</span>に<span title="おこる - to occur" class="popup">起こった</span>らしい。
<br />- It's a very difficult to believe story but it seems (from hearsay) that it really happened.
</p>

<p>Yet another, more coarse variation of stem + 「にくい」 is to use 「づらい」 instead which is a slightly transformed version of 「<span title="つらい - painful" class="popup">辛い</span>」（つらい）. This is not to be confused
with the same 「<span title="からい - spicy" class="popup">辛い</span>」（からい）, which means spicy!
</p>

<h3>Examples</h3>

<p>
（１）　<span title="にほんご - Japanese language" class="popup">日本語</span>は<em><span title="よむ - to read" class="popup">読み</span>づらい</em>な。
<br />- Man, Japanese is hard to read.
</p>
<p>
（２）　<span title="まちあわせ - meeting arrangement" class="popup">待ち合わせ</span>は、<em><span title="わかる - to understand" class="popup">分かり</span>づらい</em><span title="ばしょ - location" class="popup">場所</span>に<span title="する - to do" class="popup">しない</span>でね。
<br />- Please don't pick a difficult to understand location for the meeting arrangement.
</p>

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<div class="small" style="text-align:right;"><pre>This page has last been revised on 2005/2/23</pre></div>

<br class="break"/>
<h1>Just in case you didn't get enough the first time</h1>

<br /><br /><br />

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td><div class="outline"><!-- outline menu --><center><span class="summary">Outline</span></center><ol><li><a href="#part1.negverb2.html">More negative verbs</a></li><li><a href="#part2.negverb2.html">Doing something without doing something else</a></li><li><a href="#part3.negverb2.html">A casual masculine type of negative that ends in 「ん」</a></li><li><a href="#part4.negverb2.html">A classical negative verb that ends in 「ぬ」</a></li></ol></div></td></tr></table>


<h2 id="part1.negverb2.html">More negative verbs</h2>We already learned the most common type of negative verbs; the ones that end in 「ない」.  However, there are couple moredifferent types of negatives verbs.  The ones you will find most useful are the first two, which expresses an action that was done without having doneanother action.  The others are fairly obscure or useful only for very casual expressions. However, you <i>will</i> run into them if you learn Japanese fora fair amount of time.
<h2 id="part2.negverb2.html">Doing something without doing something else</h2>Way back when, we learned how to express a <a href="compound.html#part3.negverb2.html">sequence of actions</a> and this worked fine for both positive and negative verbs.For instance, the sentence "I didn't eat, and then I went to sleep" would become 「<span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べなくて</span><span title="ねる - to sleep" class="popup">寝た</span>。」  However, this sentence sounds a bit strange because eatingdoesn't have much to do with sleeping.  What we probably <i>really</i> want to say is that we went to sleep <i>without</i> eating.  To express this, we need to usea more generalized form of the negative request we covered at the very end of the <a href="favor.html#part5.negverb2.html">giving and receiving lesson</a>.In other words, instead of substituting the last 「い」 with 「くて」, we need only append 「で」 instead.
<div class="sumbox"><span class="summary">Doing something without doing something else</span><ul class="plain"><li>To indicate an action that was done <i>without</i> doing another action, add 「で」 to the negative of the action that was <u>not</u> done.</li><li>例）　<span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べ<em><strike>る</strike></em></span> → <span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べ<em>ない</em></span> → <span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べない</span><em>で</em></li></ul></div>

<h3>Examples</h3>
<p>
（１）　<span title="なにも - nothing" class="popup">何も</span><span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べない</span><em>で</em><span title="ねる - to sleep" class="popup">寝ました</span>。<br />- Went to sleep without eating anything.</p>

<p>
（２）　<span title="は - tooth" class="popup">歯</span>を<span title="みがく - to brush" class="popup">磨かない</span><em>で</em>、<span title="がっこう - school" class="popup">学校</span>に<span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行っちゃいました</span>。<br />- Went to school without brushing teeth (by accident).</p>

<p>
（３）　<span title="しゅくだい - homework" class="popup">宿題</span>を<span title="する - to do" class="popup">しない</span><em>で</em>、<span title="じゅぎょう - class" class="popup">授業</span>に<span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行く</span>のは、<span title="やめる - to stop; to quit" class="popup">やめた</span><span title="ほう - direction, side" class="popup">方</span>が<span title="いい - good" class="popup">いい</span>よ。<br />- It's better to stop going to class without doing homework.</p>

<p>
（４）　<span title="せんせい - teacher" class="popup">先生</span>と<span title="そうだん - consultation" class="popup">相談</span><span title="する - to do" class="popup">しない</span><em>で</em>、<span title="この - this" class="popup">この</span><span title="じゅぎょう - class" class="popup">授業</span>を<span title="とる - to take" class="popup">取る</span><span title="こと - event; matter" class="popup">こと</span>は<span title="できる - to be able to do" class="popup">出来ない</span>。<br />- You cannot take this class without consulting with teacher.</p><p>Hopefully not too difficult. Another way to express the exact same thing is to replace the last 「ない」 part with 「ず」.However, the two exception verbs 「<span title="する - to do" class="popup">する</span>」 and「<span title="くる - to come" class="popup">くる</span>」 become 「<span title="する - to do" class="popup">せず</span>」 and「<span title="くる - to come" class="popup">こず</span>」 respectively. It is also common to see this grammar combined with the target 「に」 particle.This version is more formal than 「ないで」 and is not used as much in regular conversations. </p><div class="sumbox"><span class="summary">Doing something without doing something else</span><ul>
<li>Another way to indicate an action that was done without doing another action is to replace the 「ない」 part of the negative action that was not done with 「ず」.<br />例）　<span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べ<em><strike>る</strike></em></span> → <span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べ<em><strike>ない</strike></em></span> → <span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べ<em>ず</em></span><br />例）　<span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行<em><strike>く</strike></em></span> → <span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行か<em><strike>ない</strike></em></span> → <span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行か<em>ず</em></span></li><li>The two exception verbs 「<span title="する - to do" class="popup">する</span>」 and 「<span title="くる - to come" class="popup">くる</span>」 become 「<span title="する - to do" class="popup">せず</span>」 and 「<span title="くる - to come" class="popup">こず</span>」 respectively.<br />例外1）　<em><span title="する - to do" class="popup">する</span></em> → <em><span title="する - to do" class="popup">せず</span></em><br />例外2）　<em><span title="くる - to come" class="popup">くる</span></em> → <em><span title="くる - to come" class="popup">こず</span></em></li>
</ul></div>
<h3>Examples</h3>
<p>
（１）　<span title="かれ - he; boyfriend" class="popup">彼</span>は<span title="なにも - nothing" class="popup">何も</span><em><span title="いう - to say" class="popup">言わず</span></em>、<span title="かえる - to go home" class="popup">帰って</span>しまった。<br />- He went home without saying anything.</p>

<p>
（２）　<span title="なにも - nothing" class="popup">何も</span><em><span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べず</span></em>に<span title="そんな - like that" class="popup">そんな</span>に<span title="おさけ - alcohol" class="popup">お酒</span>を<span title="のむ - to drink" class="popup">飲む</span>と<span title="とうぜん - naturally" class="popup">当然</span><span title="よっぱらう - to get drunk" class="popup">酔っ払います</span>よ。<br />- Obviously, you're going to get drunk if you drink that much without eating anything.</p>

<p>
（３）　<span title="べんきょう - study" class="popup">勉強</span><em><span title="する - to do" class="popup">せず</span></em>に<span title="とうだい - Tokyo University （東京大学）" class="popup">東大</span>に<span title="はいる - to enter" class="popup">入れる</span>と<span title="おもう - to think" class="popup">思わない</span>な。<br />- I don't think you can get in Tokyo University without studying.</p>
<h2 id="part3.negverb2.html">A casual masculine type of negative that ends in 「ん」</h2>Finally, we cover another type of negative that is used mostly by older men.  Since 「ない」 is so long and difficult to say (sarcasm), you canshorten it to just 「ん」.  However, you can't directly modify other words in this form; in other words, you can't make it a <a href="subclause.html#part3.negverb2.html">modifying subordinate clause</a>.In the same manner as before, 「<span title="する - to do" class="popup">する</span>」 becomes 「<span title="する - to do" class="popup">せん</span>」 and「<span title="くる - to come" class="popup">くる</span>」 becomes 「<span title="くる - to come" class="popup">こん</span>」though I've never heard or seen 「<span title="くる - to come" class="popup">こん</span>」 actually being used.If you have ever heard ｢<span title="すまん - sorry" class="popup">すまん</span>」 and wondered what that meant, it's actuallyan example of this grammar.  Notice that 「<span title="すみません - sorry" class="popup">すみません</span>」 is actually in polite negative form. Well,the plain form would be 「<span title="すまない - sorry" class="popup">すまない</span>」, right?  That further transformsto just 「<span title="すまん - sorry" class="popup">すまん</span>」.  The word brings up an image of<span title="おじさん - middle-aged man; uncle" class="popup">おじさん</span> but that may be just me. Anyway, it's a male expression.
<div class="sumbox"><span class="summary">A shorter way to say negative verbs</span><ul><li>A shorter way to say a negative verb is to use 「ん」 instead of 「ない」.<br />例）　<span title="しる - to know" class="popup">知<em><strike>る</strike></em></span> → <span title="しる - to know" class="popup">知ら<em><strike>ない</strike></em></span> → <span title="しる - to know" class="popup">知ら<em>ん</em></span></li><li>The two exception verbs 「<span title="する - to do" class="popup">する</span>」 and 「<span title="くる - to come" class="popup">くる</span>」 become 「<span title="する - to do" class="popup">せん</span>」 and 「<span title="くる - to come" class="popup">こん</span>」 respectively.<br />例外1）　<em><span title="する - to do" class="popup">する</span></em> → <em><span title="する - to do" class="popup">せん</span></em><br />例外2）　<em><span title="くる - to come" class="popup">くる</span></em> → <em><span title="くる - to come" class="popup">こん</span></em></li></ul></div>
<h3>Examples</h3>
<p>
（１）　<span title="すまん - sorry" class="popup">すまん</span>。<br />- Sorry.</p>

<p>
（２）　<span title="かんこくじん - Korean person" class="popup">韓国人</span>と<span title="けっこん - marriage" class="popup">結婚</span><span title="する - to do" class="popup">しなくて</span>は<em>ならん</em>！<br />- You must marry a Korean!</p>

<p>
（３）　<span title="そんな - like that" class="popup">そんな</span><span title="こと - event; matter" class="popup">こと</span>は<em><span title="する - to do" class="popup">させん</span></em>！<br />- I won't let you do such a thing!</p>
<p>You can even use this slang for past tense verbs by adding 「かった」.</p>

<p>
（４）　<span title="みんな - everybody" class="popup">皆</span>、<span title="きょう - today" class="popup">今日</span><span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行く</span>って、<span title="しる - to know" class="popup">知らん<em>かった</em></span>よ。
<br />- I didn't know everybody was going today.
</p>


<h2 id="part4.negverb2.html">A classical negative verb that ends in 「ぬ」</h2>There is yet another version of the negative verb conjugation and it uses 「ぬ」 instead of the 「ない」 that attaches to the end of the verb.While this version of the negative conjugation is old-fashioned and part of classical Japanese, you will still encounter it occasionally.In fact, I just saw this conjugation on a sign at the train station today, so it's not too uncommon.<p>
For any verb, you can replace 「ない」 with 「ぬ」 to get to an old-fashion sounding version of the negative.Similar to the last section, 「<span title="する - to do" class="popup">する</span>」 becomes 「<span title="する - to do" class="popup">せぬ</span>」 and 「<span title="くる - to come" class="popup">くる</span>」becomes 「<span title="くる - to come" class="popup">こぬ</span>」.  You may hear this grammar being used from older people or your friends if they want to bring back ye olde days.
</p>
<div class="sumbox"><span class="summary">An old-fashioned way to say negative verbs</span><ul><li>An old-fashioned  way to say a negative verb is to use 「ぬ」 instead of 「ない」.<br />例）　<span title="しる - to know" class="popup">知<em><strike>る</strike></em></span> → <span title="しる - to know" class="popup">知ら<em><strike>ない</strike></em></span> → <span title="しる - to know" class="popup">知ら<em>ぬ</em></span></li><li>The two exception verbs 「<span title="する - to do" class="popup">する</span>」 and 「くる」 become 「<span title="する - to do" class="popup">せぬ</span>」 and 「<span title="くる - to come" class="popup">こぬ</span>」 respectively.<br />例外1）　<em><span title="する - to do" class="popup">する</span></em> → <em><span title="する - to do" class="popup">せぬ</span></em><br />例外2）　<em><span title="くる - to come" class="popup">くる</span></em> → <em><span title="くる - to come" class="popup">こぬ</span></em></li></ul></div>
<h3>Examples</h3>
<p>
（１）　<span title="かんこくじん - Korean person" class="popup">韓国人</span>と<span title="けっこん - marriage" class="popup">結婚</span><span title="する - to do" class="popup">して</span>は<em>ならぬ</em>！<br />- You must not marry a Korean!</p>

<p>
（２）　<span title="もぎ - mock" class="popup">模擬</span><span title="しけん - examination" class="popup">試験</span>に<span title="なんかい - number of times" class="popup">何回</span>も<span title="しっぱい - failure" class="popup">失敗</span><span title="する - to do" class="popup">して</span>、<span title="じっさい - actual" class="popup">実際</span>に<span title="うける - to receive" class="popup">受けて</span>みたら<em><span title="おもう - to think" class="popup">思わぬ</span></em><span title="けっか - result" class="popup">結果</span>が<span title="でる - to come out" class="popup">出た</span>。<br />- After having failed mock examination any number of times, a result I wouldn't have thought came out when I actually tried taking the test.</p>
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<div class="small" style="text-align:right;"><pre>This page has last been revised on 2005/2/24</pre></div>
<br class="break"/>
<h1>Hypothesizing and Concluding</h1>

<br /><br /><br />

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
<tr><td>
<div class="outline">
<!-- outline menu -->
<center><span class="summary">Outline</span></center>
<ol>
<li><a href="#part1.reasoning.html">Some things that are not covered</a></li>
<li><a href="#part2.reasoning.html">Coming to a conclusion with 「<span title="わけ - reason; circumstances;" class="popup">わけ</span>」</a></li>
<li><a href="#part3.reasoning.html">Making hypotheses with 「と<span title="する - to do" class="popup">する</span>」</a></li>
</ol>
</div>
</td></tr>
</table>

<h2 id="part1.reasoning.html">Some things that are not covered</h2>
As we near the end of section 5, we are essentially picking up different useful types of grammar here and there.  In writing this section, I considered
a large number of topics that fall on the border between vocabulary and grammar.  In the end, I decided to skip any topic that can be looked
up and learned with examples.  Some examples of grammar that fall under this category are 「<span title="にとって - as far as... is concerned" class="popup">にとって</span>、<span title="にたいして - in regards to" class="popup">に対して</span>、<span title="にかんして - in relation to" class="popup">に関して</span>、and <span title="について - about" class="popup">について</span>」.
When you come across such grammar in the course of learning Japanese, you can look them up at the
<a href="http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~jwb/wwwjdic.html">WWWJDIC</a> and look at the example sentences.
That's all you should need to give you an idea of what each phrase means and how it is used. On the other hand, I've decided to go over two types of grammar that does deserve some explanation:
「<span title="わけ - reason; circumstances" class="popup">わけ</span>」（<span title="わけ - reason; circumstances" class="popup">訳</span>） and 「と<span title="する - to do" class="popup">する</span>」.

<h2 id="part2.reasoning.html">Coming to a conclusion with 「<span title="わけ - reason; circumstances" class="popup">わけ</span>」</h2>
The first type of grammar is, in actuality, just a regular noun.  However, it is used to express a concept that deserves some explanation. The noun
「<span title="わけ - reason; circumstances" class="popup">わけ</span>」（<span title="わけ - reason; circumstances" class="popup">訳</span>） is defined as: "meaning; reason; can be deduced".  You can see how this word is used in the following mini-dialogue.

<h3>Mini-Dialogue 1</h3>
<p>（<span title="なおこ - Naoko" class="popup">直子</span>）　<span title="いくら - how much" class="popup">いくら</span><span title="えいご - English" class="popup">英語</span>を<span title="べんきょう - study" class="popup">勉強</span><span title="する - to do" class="popup">して</span>も、<span title="うまい - tasty; skillful" class="popup">うまく</span><span title="なる - to become" class="popup">ならない</span>の。
<br />- No matter how much I study, I don't become better at English.
</p>

<p>
（ジム）　<span title="つまり - in short" class="popup">つまり</span>、<span title="ごがく - language study" class="popup">語学</span>には、<span title="のうりょく - ability" class="popup">能力</span>が<span title="ある - to exist (inanimate)" class="popup">ない</span>と<span title="いう - to say" class="popup">いう</span><em><span title="わけ - reason; circumstances" class="popup">訳</span></em>か。
<br />- So basically, it <em>means</em> that you don't have ability at language.
</p>

<p>
（<span title="なおこ - Naoko" class="popup">直子</span>）　<span title="しつれい - discourtesy" class="popup">失礼</span>ね。
<br />- How rude.
</p>

<p>As you can see, Jim is concluding from what Naoko said that she must not have any skills at learning languages.  This is completely different from the
<a href="particles3.html#part5.reasoning.html">explanatory 「の」</a>, which is used to explain something that may or may not be obvious. 「<span title="わけ - reason; circumstances" class="popup">わけ</span>」 is instead used to draw conclusions
that anyone might be able to arrive at given certain information.</p>

<p>
A very useful application of this grammar is to combine it with 「<span title="ある - to exist (inanimate)" class="popup">ない</span>」 to indicate that there is no reasonable conclusion.
This allows some very useful expression like, "How in the world am I supposed to know that?"
</p>

<p>
（１）　<span title="ちゅうごくご - Chinese" class="popup">中国語</span>が<span title="よむ - to read" class="popup">読める</span><em><span title="わけ - reason; circumstances" class="popup">わけ</span>が<span title="ある - to exist (inanimate)" class="popup">ない</span></em>。
<br />- There's no way I can read Chinese. (lit: There is no reasoning for [me] to be able to read Chinese.)
</p>

<p>Under the normal rules of grammar, we must have a particle for the noun 「<span title="わけ - reason; circumstances" class="popup">わけ</span>」 in order to use it with the verb but since this type of expression is used so often, the particle is often dropped to
create just 「～<span title="わけ - reason; circumstances" class="popup">わけ</span><span title="ある - to exist (inanimate)" class="popup">ない</span>」.
</p>

<h3>Mini-Dialogue 2</h3>
<p>（<span title="なおこ - Naoko" class="popup">直子</span>）　<span title="ひろこ - Hiroko" class="popup">広子</span>の<span title="いえ - house" class="popup">家</span>に<span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行った</span><span title="こと - matter; event" class="popup">こと</span><span title="ある - to exist (inanimate)" class="popup">ある</span>？
<br />- Have you ever gone to Hiroko's house?
</p>

<p>
（<span title="いちろう - Ichirou" class="popup">一郎</span>）　<span title="ある - to exist (inanimate)" class="popup">ある</span><em><span title="わけ - reason; circumstances" class="popup">わけ</span><span title="ある - to exist (inanimate)" class="popup">ない</span></em>でしょう。
<br />- There's no way I would have ever gone to her house, right?
</p>

<h3>Mini-Dialogue 3</h3>
<p>（<span title="なおこ - Naoko" class="popup">直子</span>）　<span title="びせきぶん - (differential and integral) calculus" class="popup">微積分</span>は<span title="わかる - to understand" class="popup">分かる</span>？
<br />- Do you understand (differential and integral) calculus?
</p>

<p>
（<span title="いちろう - Ichirou" class="popup">一郎</span>）　<span title="わかる - to understand" class="popup">分かる</span><em><span title="わけ - reason; circumstances" class="popup">わけ</span><span title="ある - to exist (inanimate)" class="popup">ない</span></em>よ！
<br />- There's no way I would understand!
</p>

<p>There is one thing to be careful of because 「<span title="わけ - reason; circumstances" class="popup">わけ</span><span title="ある - to exist (inanimate)" class="popup">ない</span>」 can also mean that something is very easy (lit: requires no explanation). You can easily tell when this meaning is intended however, because it is used in the same manner as an adjective.
</p>

（１） <span title="ここ - here" class="popup">ここ</span>の<span title="しけん - test, exam" class="popup">試験</span>に<span title="ごうかく - pass" class="popup">合格</span><span title="する - to do" class="popup">する</span>のは<em><span title="わけない - easy, simple" class="popup">わけない</span></em>。- It's easy to pass the tests here.

<p>
Finally, although not as common, 「<span title="わけ - reason; circumstances" class="popup">わけ</span>」 can also be used as a formal expression for saying that something must or must not be done at all costs. This is
simply a stronger and more formal version of 「～てはいけない」.  This grammar is created by simply attaching 「<span title="わけ - reason; circumstances" class="popup">わけ</span>にはいかない」. The 「は」 is the
topic particle and is pronounced 「わ」. The reason 「いけない」 changes to 「いかない」 is probably
related to intransitive and transitive verbs but I don't want to
get too caught up in the logistics of it.  Just take note that it's 「い<em><u>か</u></em>ない」 in this case and not 「い<em><u>け</u></em>ない」.
</p>

<p>（１）　<span title="こんど - this time" class="popup">今度</span>は<span title="まける - to lose" class="popup">負ける</span><em><span title="わけ - reason; circumstances" class="popup">わけ</span>にはいかない</em>。
<br />- This time, I must not lose at all costs.
</p>

<p>
（２）　<span title="ここ - here" class="popup">ここ</span>まで<span title="くる - to come" class="popup">きて</span>、<span title="あきらめる - to give up" class="popup">あきらめる</span><em><span title="わけ - reason; circumstances" class="popup">わけ</span>にはいかない</em>。
<br />- After coming this far, I must not give up.
</p>

<h2 id="part3.reasoning.html">Making hypotheses with 「と<span title="する - to do" class="popup">する</span>」</h2>
While this next grammar doesn't necessary have anything to do with the previous grammar, I thought it would fit nicely together. In a previous
lesson, we learn how to combine the volitional form with 「と<span title="する - to do" class="popup">する</span>」 to indicate an <a href="try.html#part3.reasoning.html">attempt to perform an action</a>.
We will now learn several other ways 「と<span title="する - to do" class="popup">する</span>」 can be used.  It may help to keep in mind that 「と<span title="する - to do" class="popup">する</span>」 is really just a combination of the quotation
particle 「と」 and the verb 「<span title="する - to do" class="popup">する</span>」 meaning "to do".  Let's say you have a sentence: [verb]と<span title="する - to do" class="popup">する</span>.  This means literally that you are doing like "[verb]" (in quotes).
As you can see, when used with the volitional, it becomes: "Doing like making motion to do [verb]".  In other words, you are acting as if to make a motion to
do [verb].  As we have already seen, this translates to "attempt to do [verb]". Let's see what happens when we use it on plain verbs.

<h3>Examples</h3>
<p>（１）　<span title="あした - tomorrow" class="popup">明日</span>に<span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行く</span><em>と<span title="する - to do" class="popup">する</span></em>。
<br />- Assume we go tomorrow.
</p>

<p>In （１）, the example is considering what would happen supposing that they should decide to go tomorrow. You can see that the literal translation still makes
sense, "Do like we go tomorrow." but in this situation, we are making a hypothesis unlike the grammar we have gone over before with the volitional form of the
verb.  Since we are considering a hypothesis, it is reasonable that the conditional will be very handy here and indeed, you will often see sentences like the
following:</p>

<p>（２）　<span title="いま - now" class="popup">今</span>から<span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行く</span>と<em><span title="する - to do" class="popup">したら</span></em>、<span title="くじ - 9 o'clock" class="popup">９時</span>に<span title="つく - to arrive" class="popup">着く</span>と<span title="おもう - to think" class="popup">思います</span>。
<br />- If we suppose that we go from now, I think we will arrive at 9:00.
</p>

<p>As you can see, the verb 「<span title="する - to do" class="popup">する</span>」 has been conjugated to the 「たら」 conditional form to consider what would happen <i>if</i>
you assume a certain case.  You can also change 「<span title="する - to do" class="popup">する</span>」 to  the te-form （<span title="する - to do" class="popup">して</span>） and use it as a sequence of actions like so:
</p>

<p>（３）　<span title="かんきゃく - spectator" class="popup">観客</span><em>と<span title="する - to do" class="popup">して</span></em><span title="さんか - participation" class="popup">参加</span><span title="する - to do" class="popup">させて</span><span title="もらう - to receive" class="popup">もらった</span>。
<br />- Received favor of allowing to participate as spectator.
</p>

<p>
（４）　<span title="ひがいしゃ - victim" class="popup">被害者</span><em>と<span title="する - to do" class="popup">して</span>は</em>、<span title="ひじょう - extreme" class="popup">非常</span>に<span title="さいわい - fortunate" class="popup">幸い</span>だった。
<br />- As a victim, was extremely fortunate.
</p>

<p>
（５）　<span title="あさごはん - breakfast" class="popup">朝ご飯</span>を<span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べた</span><em>と<span title="する - to do" class="popup">して</span>も</em>、<span title="もう - already" class="popup">もう</span><span title="ひる - afternoon" class="popup">昼</span>だから<span title="おなか - stomach" class="popup">お腹</span>が<span title="すく - to become empty" class="popup">空いた</span>でしょう。
<br />- Even assuming that you ate breakfast, because it's already noon, you're probably hungry, right?
</p>

<p>The same idea applies here as well.  In （３）, you are doing like a "spectator" and doing like a "victim" in （４） and finally, doing like you
ate breakfast in （５）. So you can see why the same grammar applies for all these types of sentences because they all mean the same thing in Japanese (minus
the use of additional particles and various conjugations of 「<span title="する - to do" class="popup">する</span>」).
</p>

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<p class="copyright">Copyright &copy; 2003-2007 Tae Kim (taekim.japanese AT gmail.com)</p>
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<a href="http://www.guidetojapanese.org/forum/viewforum.php?id=18">Report a correction or suggestion for this page</a>
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<div class="small" style="text-align:right;"><pre>This page has last been revised on 2007/1/21</pre></div>

<br class="break"/>
<h1>When did it all happen?</h1>

<br /><br /><br />

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
<tr><td>
<div class="outline">
<!-- outline menu -->
<center><span class="summary">Outline</span></center>
<ol>
<li><a href="#part1.timeaction2.html">Expressing time-specific actions</a></li>
<li><a href="#part2.timeaction2.html">Saying an action was just completed using 「～ばかり」</a></li>
<li><a href="#part3.timeaction2.html">Using 「とたん」 to say something happened right after something else</a></li>
<li><a href="#part4.timeaction2.html">Using 「<span title="ながら - while" class="popup">ながら</span>」 for two concurrent actions</a></li>
<li><a href="#part5.timeaction2.html">Using 「<span title="ながら - while" class="popup">ながら</span>」 with state of being to mean "while"</a></li>
<li><a href="#part6.timeaction2.html">To repeat something with reckless abandon using 「まくる」</a></li>
</ol>
</div>
</td></tr>
</table>


<h2 id="part1.timeaction2.html">Expressing time-specific actions</h2>
In this lesson, we will go over various ways to express actions that take place in a certain time-frame.  In particular, we will learn how to say:
1) an action has just been completed, 2) an action is taken immediately after another action took place, 3) an action occurs while another action is
ongoing, and 4) one continuously repeats an action.

<h2 id="part2.timeaction2.html">Expressing an action that was just completed using 「～ばかり」</h2>
This is a very useful grammar that is used to indicate that one has just finished doing something.  For instance, the first time I really wished I
knew how to say something like this was when I wanted to politely decline an invitation to eat because I had just eaten.  To do this,
take the past tense of verb that you want to indicate as just being completed and add 「ばかり」. This is used with only the past tense of
verbs and is not to be confused with the 「ばかり」 used with nouns to express <a href="amount.html#part5.timeaction2.html">amounts</a>.


<p>Just like the other type of 「ばかり」 we have covered before, in slang, you can hear people use 「ばっか」 instead of 「ばかり」.
</p>

<div class="sumbox">
<span class="summary">Using 「ばかり」 for actions just completed</span>
<ul>
<li>To indicate that an action has ended just recently, take the past tense of the verb and add 「ばかり」.
<br />例）　<span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べ<em><strike>る</strike></em></span> → <span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べ<em>た</em></span> → <span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べた<em>ばかり</em></span></li>
<li>For casual speech, you can abbreviate 「ばかり」 to just 「ばっか」
<br />例）　<span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べた</span><em><strike>ばかり</strike></em> →　<span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べた</span><em>ばっか</em></li>
</ul>
<center>
<table border="1" cellpadding="5">
<caption>You can treat the result as you would with any noun.</caption>
<tr align="center"><th colspan="2">Positive</th><th colspan="2">Negative</th></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べた</span>ばかり（だ）</td><td>Just ate</td><td><span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べた</span>ばかりじゃない</td><td>Didn't just eat</td></tr>

</table>
</center>

</div>

<h3>Examples</h3>
<p>
（１）　<span title="すみません - sorry" class="popup">すみません</span>、<span title="いま - now" class="popup">今</span><em><span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べた</span>ばかり</em>なので、<span title="おなか - stomach" class="popup">お腹</span>が<span title="いっぱい - full" class="popup">いっぱい</span>です。
<br />- Sorry, but I'm full having just eaten.
</p>

<p>
（２）　<span title="じゅっきろ - 10 kilos" class="popup">10キロ</span>を<em><span title="はしる - run" class="popup">走った</span>ばかり</em>で、<span title="すごい - amazing; to a great extent" class="popup">凄く</span><span title="つかれる - to get tired" class="popup">疲れた</span>。
<br />- I just ran 10 kilometers and am really tired.
</p>

<p>
（３）　<span title="いま - now" class="popup">今</span>、<span title="いえ - house; うち - home" class="popup">家</span>に<em><span title="かえる - to go home" class="popup">帰った</span>ばかり</em>です。
<br />- I got back home just now.
</p>

<p>Here are some examples of the abbreviated version.
</p>

<p>
（１）　<span title="あさごはん - breakfast" class="popup">昼ご飯</span>を<span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べた</span><em>ばっか</em>なのに、<span title="もう - already" class="popup">もう</span><span title="おなか - stomach" class="popup">お腹</span>が<span title="すく - to become empty" class="popup">空いた</span>。
<br />- Despite the fact that I just ate lunch, I'm hungry already.
</p>

<p>
（２）　<span title="まさか - you can't mean..." class="popup">まさか</span>、<span title="いま - now" class="popup">今</span><span title="おきる - to get up; to occur" class="popup">起きた</span><em>ばっか</em>なの？
<br />- No way, did you wake up just now?
</p>

<h2 id="part3.timeaction2.html">Using 「とたん」 to express something that occurred immediately after an action</h2>
Kind of as a supplement to 「ばかり」, we will cover one way to say something happened as soon as something else occurs.
To use this grammar, add 「とたん」 to the past tense of the first action that happened. It is also common to add the 「に」 target particle to
indicate that specific point in time.

<div class="sumbox">
<span class="summary">Using 「とたん」 to indicate one thing happened right after another</span>
<ul class="plain">
<li>Change the verb that happened first to the <a href="pastverb.html#part1.timeaction2.html"><i>past tense</i></a>
and attach 「とたん」 or 「とたんに」.</li>
<li>例）　<span title="あける - to open" class="popup">開け<em>る</em></span> → <span title="あける - to open" class="popup">開け<em>た</em></span> → <span title="あける - to open" class="popup">開けた</span><em>とたん（に）</em></li>
<li>例）　<span title="とる - to take" class="popup">取<em>る</em></span> → <span title="とる - to take" class="popup">取<em>った</em></span> → <span title="とる - to take" class="popup">取った<em>とたん（に）</em></span></li>
<li><br />※Note: You can only use this grammar for things that happen outside your control.</li>
</ul>
</div>

<h3>Examples</h3>
（１）　<span title="まど - window" class="popup">窓</span>を<em><span title="あける - to open" class="popup">開けた</span>とたんに</em>、<span title="ねこ - cat" class="popup">猫</span>が<span title="とぶ - to jump" class="popup">跳んで</span><span title="いく - to go" class="popup">いった</span>。
<br />- As soon as I opened window, cat jumped out.
<br />
<br />For many more examples, check these <a href="http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/cgi-bin/cgiwrap/jwb/wwwjdic?1Q%C5%D3%C3%BC_1_">examples sentences</a>
from our old trusty WWWJDIC.

<p>An important thing to realize is that you can only use this grammar for things that occur immediately after something else
and not for an action that you, yourself carry out. For instance, compare the following two sentences.
<br />
<br />（誤）　<span title="えいが - movie" class="popup">映画</span>を<span title="みる - to watch" class="popup">観た</span>とたんに、<em><strike><span title="トイレ - toilet; bathroom" class="popup">トイレ</span>に<span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行きました</span></strike></em>。
<br />- (You carried out the action of going to the bathroom so this is not correct.)
<br />
<br />（正）　<span title="えいが - movie" class="popup">映画</span>を<span title="みる - to watch" class="popup">観た</span>とたんに、<em><span title="ねむい - sleepy" class="popup">眠く</span><span title="なる - to become" class="popup">なりました</span></em>。
<br />- (Since becoming sleepy is something that happened outside your control, this sentence is ok.)
</p>


<h2 id="part4.timeaction2.html">Using 「<span title="ながら - while" class="popup">ながら</span>」 for two concurrent actions</h2>
You can use 「<span title="ながら - while" class="popup">ながら</span>」 to express that one action is taking place in conjunction with another action.  To use 「<span title="ながら - while" class="popup">ながら</span>」, you must change the
first verb to the stem and append 「<span title="ながら - while" class="popup">ながら</span>」. Though probably rare, you can also attach 「<span title="ながら - while" class="popup">ながら</span>」 to the negative of the verb for express the
negative. This grammar has no tense since it is determined by the second verb.

<div class="sumbox">
<span class="summary">Using 「<span title="ながら - while" class="popup">ながら</span>」 for concurrent actions</span>
<ul class="plain">
<li>Change the first verb to the <a href="polite.html#part2.timeaction2.html"><i>stem</i></a> and append 「<span title="ながら - while" class="popup">ながら</span>」</li>
<li>例）　<span title="はしる - run" class="popup">走<em>る</em></span> → <span title="はしる - run" class="popup">走<em>り</em></span> → <span title="はしる - run" class="popup">走り</span><em><span title="ながら - while" class="popup">ながら</span></em></li>
<li>For the negative, simply attach 「<span title="ながら - while" class="popup">ながら</span>」to the negative tense</li>
<li>例）　<span title="はしる - run" class="popup">走<em>る</em></span> → <span title="はしる - run" class="popup">走<em>らない</em></span> → <span title="はしる - run" class="popup">走らない</span><em><span title="ながら - while" class="popup">ながら</span></em></li>
</ul>
</div>

<h3>Examples</h3>
（１）　<span title="テレビ - television" class="popup">テレビ</span>を<em><span title="みる - to watch" class="popup">観</span><span title="ながら - while" class="popup">ながら</span></em>、<span title="しゅくだい - homework" class="popup">宿題</span>を<span title="する - to do" class="popup">する</span>。
<br />- Do homework while watching TV.
<br />
<br />（２）　<span title="おんがく - music" class="popup">音楽</span>を<em><span title="きく - to listen" class="popup">聴き</span><span title="ながら - while" class="popup">ながら</span></em>、<span title="だいがく - college" class="popup">学校</span>へ<span title="あるく - to walk" class="popup">歩く</span>のが<span title="すき - like" class="popup">好き</span>。
<br />- Like to walk to school while listening to music.
<br />
<br />（３）　<span title="あいて - other party" class="popup">相手</span>に<span title="なにも - nothing" class="popup">何も</span><em><span title="いう - to say" class="popup">言わない</span><span title="ながら - while" class="popup">ながら</span></em>、<span title="じぶん - oneself" class="popup">自分</span>の<span title="きもち - feeling" class="popup">気持ち</span>を<span title="わかる - to understand" class="popup">わかって</span>ほしいのは<span title="たんなる - simply" class="popup">単なる</span><span title="わがまま - selfish" class="popup">わがままだ</span>と<span title="おもう - to think" class="popup">思わない</span>？
<br />- Don't you think that wanting the other person to understand one's feelings while not saying anything is just simply selfishness?

<p>Notice that the sentence ends with the main verb just like it always does.  This means that the main action of the sentence is the verb
that ends the clause.
The 「<span title="ながら - while" class="popup">ながら</span>」 simply describes another action that is also taking place.  For example, if we switched the verbs in （１） to say, 「宿題をし<span title="ながら - while" class="popup">ながら</span>、
<span title="テレビ - television" class="popup">テレビ</span>を<span title="みる - to watch" class="popup">観る</span>。」, this changes the sentence to say, "Watch TV while doing homework."  In other words, the main action, in this case, becomes
watching TV and the action of doing homework is describing an action that is taking place at the same time.
</p>

<p>The tense is controlled by the main verb so the verb used with 「<span title="ながら - while" class="popup">ながら</span>」 cannot have a tense.
</p>
<p>
（１）　<span title="ポップコーン - popcorn" class="popup">ポップコーン</span>を<span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べ</span><span title="ながら - while" class="popup">ながら</span>、<span title="えいが - movie" class="popup">映画</span>を<em><span title="みる - to watch" class="popup">観る</span></em>。- <em>Watch</em> movie while eating popcorn.
</p>
<p>
（２）　<span title="ポップコーン - popcorn" class="popup">ポップコーン</span>を<span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べ</span><span title="ながら - while" class="popup">ながら</span>、<span title="えいが - movie" class="popup">映画</span>を<em><span title="みる - to watch" class="popup">観た</span></em>。- <em>Watched</em> movie while eating popcorn.
</p>
<p>
（３）　<span title="くちぶえ - whistle" class="popup">口笛</span>を<span title="する - to do" class="popup">し</span><span title="ながら - while" class="popup">ながら</span>、<span title="てがみ - letter" class="popup">手紙</span>を<em><span title="かく - to write" class="popup">書いて</span>いた</em>。- <em>Was writing</em> letter while whistling.
</p>


<h2 id="part5.timeaction2.html">Using 「<span title="ながら - while" class="popup">ながら</span>」 with state of being to mean "while"</h2>
A more advanced use of 「<span title="ながら - while" class="popup">ながら</span>」 is to use it with the implied state of being. In other words, you can use it with nouns or adjectives to talk about
what something is while something else. The implied state of being means that you must not use the declarative 「だ」, you just attach 「<span title="ながら - while" class="popup">ながら</span>」 to the
noun or adjective.  For example, a common way this grammar is used is to say, "While it's unfortunate, something something..."
In Japanese, this would become 「<span title="ざんねん - unfortunate" class="popup">残念</span><em><span title="ながら - while" class="popup">ながら</span></em>・・・」

<p>
	You can also attach the inclusive 「も」 particle to 「<span title="ながら - while" class="popup">ながら</span>」 to get 「<span title="ながら - while" class="popup">ながら</span>も」. This changes the meaning from "while" to "<u>even</u> while".
</p>


<div class="sumbox">
<span class="summary">Using 「<span title="ながら - while" class="popup">ながら</span>」 with state of being to mean "while" or 「<span title="ながら - while" class="popup">ながら</span>も」 to mean "even while"</span>
<ul class="plain">
<li>To say [X] is something while something else, attach 「<span title="ながら - while" class="popup">ながら</span>」 to [X]</li>
<li>例）　<span title="ざんねん - unfortunate" class="popup">残念</span> → <span title="ざんねん - unfortunate" class="popup">残念</span><em><span title="ながら - while" class="popup">ながら</span></em></li>
<li>To say [X] is something even while something else, attach 「<span title="ながらも - even while" class="popup">ながらも</span>」 to [X]</li>
<li>例）　<span title="びんぼう - poor" class="popup">貧乏</span> → <span title="びんぼう - poor" class="popup">貧乏</span><em><span title="ながらも - even while" class="popup">ながらも</span></em></li>
</ul>
</div>

<h3>Examples</h3>

（１）　<span title="しごと - work" class="popup">仕事</span>が<span title="いっぱい - a lot; full" class="popup">いっぱい</span><span title="はいる - to enter" class="popup">入って</span>、<span title="ざんねん - unfortunate" class="popup">残念</span><em><span title="ながら - while" class="popup">ながら</span></em>、<span title="きょう - today" class="popup">今日</span>は<span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行けなく</span><span title="なる - to become" class="popup">なりました</span>。
<br />- While it's unfortunate, a lot of work came in and it became so that I can't go today.
<br />
<br />（２）　<span title="びんぼう - poor" class="popup">貧乏</span><em><span title="ながらも - even while" class="popup">ながらも</span></em>、<span title="こうきゅう - high-quality" class="popup">高級</span>な<span title="バッグ - bag" class="popup">バッグ</span>を<span title="かう - to buy" class="popup">買っちゃった</span>よ。
<br />- Even while I'm poor, I ended up buying a high quality bag.
<br />
<br />（３）　<span title="かれ - he; boyfriend" class="popup">彼</span>は、<span title="しょしんしゃ - beginner" class="popup">初心者</span><em><span title="ながらも - even while" class="popup">ながらも</span></em>、<span title="じつりょく - actual ability" class="popup">実力</span>は<span title="プロ - pro (professional)" class="popup">プロ</span>と<span title="おなじ - same" class="popup">同じ</span>だ。
<br />- Even while he is a beginner, his actual skills are the same as a pro.

<h2 id="part6.timeaction2.html">To repeat something with reckless abandon using 「まくる」</h2>
The WWWJDIC very succinctly defines the definition of this verb as a "verb suffix to indicate reckless abandon to the activity". Unfortunately, it doesn't
go on to tell you exactly how it's actually used. Actually, there's not much to explain. You take the stem of the verb and simply attach 「まくる」. However,
since this is a continuing activity, it is an <a href="enduring.html#part2.timeaction2.html"><i>enduring state</i></a> unless you're going to do it in the future.
This is a very casual expression.

<div class="sumbox">
<span class="summary">Using 「まくる」 for frequent actions</span>
<ul class="plain">
<li>Change the first verb to the <a href="polite.html#part2.timeaction2.html"><i>stem</i></a> and append 「まくっている」.</li>
<li>例）　<span title="やる - to do" class="popup">や<em>る</em></span> → <span title="やる - to do" class="popup">や<em>り</em></span> → <span title="やる - to do" class="popup">やり</span><em>まくっている</em></li>
</ul>

<center>
<table border="1" cellpadding="5">
<caption>You can use all the normal conjugations you would expect with any other verb.</caption>

<tr align="center"><th></th><th colspan="2">Positive</th><th colspan="2">Negative</th></tr>

<tr align="center"><th>Non-Past</th><td><span title="やる - to do" class="popup">やり</span>まくっている</td><td>Doing all the time</td><td><span title="やる - to do" class="popup">やり</span>まくっていない</td><td>Don't do all the time</td></tr>

<tr align="center"><th>Past</th><td><span title="やる - to do" class="popup">やり</span>まくっていた</td><td>Did all the time</td><td><span title="やる - to do" class="popup">やり</span>まくっていなかった</td><td>Didn't do all the time</td></tr>
</table>
</center>
</div>

<h3>Examples</h3>
（１）　<span title="ゲーム - game" class="popup">ゲーム</span>に<span title="はまる - to get hooked" class="popup">はまっちゃって</span>、<span title="さいきん - lately" class="popup">最近</span><span title="パソコン - computer" class="popup">パソコン</span>を<em><span title="つかう - to use" class="popup">使い</span>まくっている</em>よ。
<br />- Having gotten hooked by games, I do nothing but use the computer lately.
<br />
<br />（２）　<span title="アメリカ - America" class="popup">アメリカ</span>に<span title="いる - to exist (animate)" class="popup">いた</span><span title="とき - time" class="popup">時</span>は<span title="コーラ - cola" class="popup">コーラ</span>を<em><span title="のむ - to drink" class="popup">飲み</span>まくっていた</em>。
<br />- When I was in the US, I drank coke like all the time.

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<p>
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<div class="small" style="text-align:right;"><pre>This page has last been revised on 2004/12/18</pre></div>

<br class="break"/>
<h1>Nothing Ever Changes</h1>

<br /><br /><br />

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
<tr><td>
<div class="outline">
<!-- outline menu -->
<center><span class="summary">Outline</span></center>
<ol>
<li><a href="#part1.nochange.html">Expressing a lack of change</a></li>
<li><a href="#part2.nochange.html">Using 「まま」 to express a lack of change</a></li>
<li><a href="#part3.nochange.html">Using 「っぱなし」 to leave something the way it is</a></li>
</ol>
</div>
</td></tr>
</table>


<h2 id="part1.nochange.html">Expressing a lack of change</h2>
Up until now, we've mostly been talking about things that have happened or changed in the course of events.  We will
now learn some simple grammar to express a <i>lack</i> of change.

<h2 id="part2.nochange.html">Using 「まま」 to express a lack of change</h2>
「まま」, not to be confused with the childish expression for "mother" （ママ）, is a grammatical phrase to express a lack of change
in something. Grammatically, it is used just like a regular noun. You'll most likely hear this grammar
at a convenience store when you buy a very small item. Since store clerks use super polite expressions and
at lightening fast speeds, learning this one expression will help you out a bit in advance. (Of course, upon
showing a lack of comprehension, the person usually repeats the exact same phrase... at the exact same speed.)

<h3>Examples</h3>
<p>
（１）　<span title="この - this" class="popup">この</span><em>まま</em>で<span title="よろしい - good" class="popup">宜しい</span>ですか？
<br />- Is it ok <em>just like</em> this?
</p>
<p>
In other words, the clerk wants to know if you'll take it just like that or whether you want it in a small bag. 「<span title="よろしい - good" class="popup">宜しい</span>」, in
case I haven't gone over it yet, is simply a very polite version of 「<span title="いい - good" class="popup">いい</span>」. Notice that 「まま」 grammatically works just like
a regular noun which means, as usual, that you can modify it with verb phrases or adjectives.
</p>
<p>（２）　<span title="はんぶん - half" class="popup">半分</span>しか<em><span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べてない</span>まま</em>で<span title="すてる - to throw out" class="popup">捨てちゃ</span><span title="だめ - bad; no good" class="popup">ダメ</span>！
<br />- You can't throw it out leaving it in that half-eaten condition!
</p>
<p>
Ok, the translation is very loose, but the idea is that it's in an unchanged state of being half-eaten and you can't just throw that out.
</p>
<p>
Here's a good example I found googling around. It is chock full of grammar which are explained <a href="amount.html#part2.nochange.html">here</a>,
<a href="causepass.html#part2.nochange.html">here</a>, and <a href="desire.html#part3.nochange.html">here</a>.
<br />Hint: The 「<span title="いる - to exist (animate)" class="popup">いさせる</span>」 is the causative form of 「<span title="いる - to exist (animate)" class="popup">いる</span>」 meaning "let/make me exist".
</p>
<p>
（３）　<span title="きょう - today" class="popup">今日</span>だけは<em><span title="かなしい - sad" class="popup">悲しい</span>まま</em>で<span title="いる - to exist (animate)" class="popup">いさせて</span><span title="ほしい - want" class="popup">ほしい</span>。
<br />- For only today, I want you to let me stay in this sad condition.
</p>

<p>Finally, just in case, here's an example of direct noun modification.
</p>
<p>
（４）　<span title="その - that" class="popup">その</span><em><span title="かっこう - appearance" class="popup">格好</span>のまま</em>で<span title="クラブ - club" class="popup">クラブ</span>に<span title="はいる - to enter" class="popup">入れない</span>よ。
<br />- You can't get in the club in that getup (without changing it).
</p>

<h2 id="part3.nochange.html">Using 「っぱなし」 to leave something the way it is</h2>
The verb 「<span title="はなす - to set loose" class="popup">放す</span>」 meaning "to set loose", can be used in various ways in regards to leaving something the way it is.
For instance, a variation  「<span title="ほっとく - to leave alone" class="popup">放っとく</span>」 is used when you want to say "Leave me alone". For instance, you might use the command form of
a request （<span title="くれる - to give" class="popup">くれる</span>） and say, 「<span title="ほっとく - to leave alone" class="popup">ほっといて</span><span title="くれる - to give" class="popup">くれ</span>！」(Leave me alone!). Yet another variant 「<span title="ほったらかす - to neglect" class="popup">ほったらかす</span>」 means "to neglect".

<p>The grammar I would like to discuss here is the 「っぱなし」 suffix variant. You can attach this suffix to the stem of any verb to describe the act of doing something and
leaving it that way without changing it. You can treat the combination like a regular noun.
</p>

<p>As usual, you can click the [EX] link after
looking up the word at the <a href="http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~jwb/wwwjdic.html">WWWJDIC</a> to see examples. In fact, here's a direct link to
<a href="http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/cgi-bin/cgiwrap/jwb/wwwjdic?1Q%A4%C3%A4%D1%A4%CA%A4%B7_1_">examples of this grammar</a>.
As you can see by the examples, this suffix carries a nuance that the thing left alone is due to oversight or neglect.
Here are the (simple) conjugation rules for this grammar.
</p>

 <div class="sumbox">
<span class="summary">Using 「っぱなし」 to complete an action and leave it that way</span>
<ul class="plain">
<li>Take the <a href="polite.html#part2.nochange.html">stem</a> of the verb and attach 「っぱなし」.</li>
<li>例）　<span title="あける - to open" class="popup">開け<em><strike>る</strike></em></span> → <span title="あける - to open" class="popup">開け</span><em>っぱなし</em></li>
<li>例）　<span title="かく - to write" class="popup">書<em><strike>く</strike></em></span> → <span title="かく - to write" class="popup">書<em>き</em></span> → <span title="かく - to write" class="popup">書き</span><em>っぱなし</em></li>
</ul>
</div>

 <h3>Examples</h3>
 <p>
 （１）　<span title="テレビ - television" class="popup">テレビ</span>を<em><span title="つける - to attach; to turn on" class="popup">付け</span>っぱなし</em>に<span title="する - to do" class="popup">しなければ</span><span title="ねむれる - to fall sleep" class="popup">眠れない</span><span title="ひと - person" class="popup">人</span>は、<span title="けっこう - fairly" class="popup">結構</span><span title="いる - to exist (animate)" class="popup">いる</span>。
 <br />- There exists a fair number of people who cannot sleep unless they turn on the TV and leave it that way.
 </p>
 <p>
 （２）　<span title="まど - window" class="popup">窓</span>が<em><span title="あける - to open" class="popup">開け</span>っ放し</em>だったので、<span title="か - mosquito" class="popup">蚊</span>が<span title="いっぱい - a lot; full" class="popup">いっぱい</span><span title="はいる - to enter" class="popup">入った</span>。
 <br />- The window was left wide open so a lot of mosquitoes got in.
 </p>


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<div class="small" style="text-align:right;"><pre>This page has last been revised on 2005/4/13
Fixed some typos and cleaned up format (2005/4/13)</pre>
</div>

<br class="break"/>
<h1>Look at me, I'm advanced!</h1>

<br /><br /><br />

<h2>Advanced Topics</h2>
Whew! We've come a long way from learning the basic phonetic alphabet to covering almost all the grammar you're going to need for
daily conversations. But wait, we're not finished yet! In fact, things are going to get even more challenging and interesting because,
especially toward the latter part of this section,
we are going to learn grammar that only <i>might</i> come in handy. In my experience, the most useful things are easiest to
learn as they come up again and again. However, in order to completely master a language, we also must work hard to conquer the bigger area
of things that don't come up very often and yet every native Japanese speaker instinctively understands. Believe it or not, even the more obscure
grammar <i>will</i> come up eventually leaving you wondering what it's supposed to mean. That's why <i>I</i> bothered to learn them at least.

<div class="sumbox">
<div class="outtitle">Lessons covered in this section</div>

<ul>
<li><a href="formal.html">Formal Expressions</a> - If you're only going to learn one lesson from this section, learn this one! This lesson will cover the formal version of state of being
（である、ではない） as well as some fundamental differences in the type of language used in formal writing and speech such as reports or documentaries.
</li>
<li><a href="should.html">Things that should be a certain way</a> - We will go over some different ways to express the way things should be or are supposed to be using 「はず」、「べき」、「べく」、and 「べからず」.</li>
<li><a href="even.html">Expressing the minimum expectation</a> - We will learn how to express the minimum expectations such as the sentence, "He can't <u>even</u> speak English" using
「でさえ」、「ですら」、and 「おろか」.</li>
<li><a href="signs.html">Showing signs of something</a> - We will learn various useful ways to express someone showing signs of something using 「～がる」、「ばかり」、and 「～めく」.</li>
<li><a href="feasibility.html">Formal expressions of non-feasibility</a> - We will learn a number of formal expressions relating to the feasibility and necessity of having to do certain things.</li>
<li><a href="tendency.html">Tendencies</a> - Different ways to express a tendency to do or be a certain way.</li>
<li><a href="adv_volitional.html">Advanced Volitional</a> - Continuing with formal language, we will look at some more advances uses of the volitional form such as 「であろう」 or 「～まい」.</li>
<li><a href="covered.html">Covered by something</a> - Some more grammar to describe something that is covered by something.</li>
<li><a href="close_actions.html">Advanced proximity of actions</a> - Some advanced expressions to describe events that happen right after another.</li>
<li>Others - Other grammar that I noticed that doesn't really fit anywhere else.</li>
</ul>
</div>

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<div class="small" style="text-align:right;"><pre>This page has last been revised on 2005/2/7</pre></div>

<br class="break"/>
<h1>Formal Expressions</h1>

<br /><br /><br />

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
<tr><td>
<div class="outline">
<!-- outline menu -->
<center><span class="summary">Outline</span></center>
<ol>
<li><a href="#part1.formal.html">What do you mean by formal expressions?</a></li>
<li><a href="#part2.formal.html">Using 「である」 to state that something is so in an authoritative tone</a></li>
<li><a href="#part3.formal.html">Negative of 「である」</a></li>
<li><a href="#part4.formal.html">Sequential subordinate clauses in formal language</a></li>
</ol>
</div>
</td></tr>
</table>


<h2 id="part1.formal.html">What do you mean by formal expressions?</h2>
So far we have learned casual, polite, and honorific/humble types of languages. So what do I mean by formal expressions? I think we are all
aware of the type of language I am talking about. We hear it in speeches, read it in reports, and see it on documentaries. While discussing good writing
style is beyond the scope of this guide, we will go over some of the grammar that you will commonly find in this type of language. Which is not to say
that it won't appear in regular everyday speech. (Because it does.)

<h2 id="part2.formal.html">Using 「である」 to state that something is so in an authoritative tone</h2>
We have already learned how to speak with your friends in casual speech, your superiors in polite speech, and your customers in honorific / humble speech.
We've learned 「だ」、「です」、and 「でございます」 to express a state of being for these different levels of politeness.
There is one more type of state of being that is primarily used to state facts in a neutral, official sounding manner - 「である」. Just like the others,
you tack 「である」 on to the adjective or noun that represents the state.

<h3>Examples</h3>
（１）　吾輩は猫<em>である</em> - I am a cat. (This is the title of a famous novel by 夏目漱石)

<p>
Since I'm too lazy to look up facts, let's trot on over to the Japanese version of <a href="http://ja.wikipedia.org/">Wikipedia</a>
and look at some random articles by clicking on 「おまかせ表示」.
<br />
（２）　混合物(こんごうぶつ, mixture)とは、2種類以上の純物質が混じりあっている物質<em>である</em>。(<a href="http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/混合物">Wikipedia - 混合物</a>, July 2004)
<br />－ An amalgam is a mixture of two or more pure substances.
</p>

<p>To give you an idea of how changing the 「である」 changes the tone, I've included some fake content around that sentence.
</p>
<ol>
<li>
混合物は<em>何</em>？
<br />混合物は、2種類以上の純物質が混じりあっている物質<em>だ</em>。
</li>
<li>
混合物は<em>何ですか</em>？
<br />混合物は、2種類以上の純物質が混じりあっている物質<em>です</em>。
</li>
<li>
混合物は<em>何でしょうか</em>。
<br />混合物は、2種類以上の純物質が混じりあっている物質<em>でございます</em>。
</li>

<li>
混合物<em>とは</em>？
<br />混合物は、2種類以上の純物質が混じりあっている物質<em>である	</em>。
</li>

</ol>

<p>Newspaper articles are different in that the main objective is to convey current events as succinctly and quickly as possible.
For this reason, 「である」 is not normally used in newspaper articles favoring 「だ」 or nothing at all.　Though, in general, since newspaper
articles detail events that took place or quotations, almost all sentences end in plain dictionary-form verbs anyway.
</p>
<p>
（１）　国土交通省は２年後に利用率を７０％まで引き上げる考えで、買い替え時に利用する気になるかどうかがカギになりそう<em>だ</em>。
（<a href="http://www.asahi.com/business/update/0816/028.html">朝日新聞</a>,  2004/8/16）
<br />－With the idea of raising percentage of usage to 70% in two years, it seems likely that the key will become whether the
Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport will employ [it] when it buys replacements.
</p>

<h2 id="part3.formal.html">Negative of 「である」</h2>
Because the <a href="negverb.html#part2.formal.html">negative</a> of 「ある」 is 「ない」, you might expect the opposite of 「である」 to be 「でない」.
However, for some reason I'm not aware of, you need to insert the <a href="particles.html#part2.formal.html">topic particle</a> before 「ない」 to get 「ではない」.

<h3>Example</h3>
（１）　これは不公平<em>ではない</em>でしょうか。- Wouldn't you consider this to be unfair?
<br />（２）　言語は簡単にマスターできること<em>ではない</em>。- Language is not something that can be mastered easily.

<div class="sumbox">
<span class="summary">Using 「である」 to sound official</span>
<ul class="plain">
<li>Attach 「である」 to the verb or adjective that the state of being applies to.</li>
<li>例）　学生 → 学生<em>である</em></li>
<li>For the negative, attach 「ではない」 to the verb or adjective that the state of being applies to.</li>
<li>例）　学生 → 学生<em>ではない</em></li>
<li>For the past tense state of being, apply the regular <a href="pastverb.html">past tenses</a> of 「ある」</li>
</ul>
<center>
<table border="1" cellpadding="5">
<caption>Complete conjugation chart for 「である」</caption>
<tr align="center"><th colspan="2">Positive</th><th colspan="2">Negative</th></tr>

<tr align="center"><td>学生<em>である</em></td><td>is student</td><td>学生<em>ではない</em></td><td>is not student</td></tr>
<tr align="center"><td>学生<em>であった</em></td><td>was student</td><td>学生<em>ではなかった</em></td><td>was not student</td></tr>

</table>
</center>

</div>

<h2 id="part4.formal.html">Sequential subordinate clauses in formal language</h2>
In the <a href="compound.html#part3.formal.html">Compound Sentence</a> lesson, we learned how to use the <a href="compound.html#part3.formal.html">te-form</a> of verbs to
express multiples sequential actions in one sentence.  This practice, however, is used only in regular everyday speech. Formal speeches, narration, and
written publications employ plain <a href="polite.html#part2.formal.html">verb stems</a> instead of the te-form to describe sequential actions. Particularly, newspaper
articles, in the interest of brevity, always prefer verb stems to the te-form.

<h3>Examples</h3>
（１）　花火（はなび）は、火薬と金属の粉末を混ぜたものに火を<em>付け</em>、燃焼時の火花を楽しむためのもの。
（<a href="http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/花火">Wikipedia - 花火</a>, August 2004）
<br />－Fireworks are for the enjoyment of sparks created from combustion created by lighting up a mixture of gunpowder and metal powder.
<br />（２）　企業内の顧客データを利用<em>し</em>、彼の行方を調べることが出来た。- Was able to investigate his whereabouts using the company's internal
customer data.
<p>For the <a href="enduring.html#part2.formal.html">～ている forms</a>, the stem becomes 「～てい」 but because that doesn't fit very well into the middle of a sentence,
it is common to use the <a href="honorhum.html#part2.formal.html">humble form</a> of 「いる」 which you will remember is 「おる」. This is simply so you can employ 「おり」
to connect subordinate clauses instead of just 「い」. It has nothing to do with the humble aspect of 「おる」
<br />（３）　この旅館は、様々な新しい設備が<em>備えており</em>、とても快適だった。- This Japanese inn having been equipped with various new facilities, was
very comfortable.
</p>

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<p>
<a href="http://www.guidetojapanese.org/forum/viewforum.php?id=18">Report a correction or suggestion for this page</a>
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</div>

<br class="break"/>
<h1>The way things should be</h1>

<br /><br /><br />

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
<tr><td>
<div class="outline">
<!-- outline menu -->
<center><span class="summary">Outline</span></center>
<ol>
<li><a href="#part1.should.html">Talking about the way things are supposed to be</a></li>
<li><a href="#part2.should.html">Using 「はず」 to describe an expectation</a></li>
<li><a href="#part3.should.html">Using 「べき」 to describe actions one should do</a></li>
<li><a href="#part4.should.html">Using 「べく」 to describe what one tries to do</a></li>
<li><a href="#part5.should.html">Using 「べからず」 to describe things one must not do</a></li>
</ol>
</div>
</td></tr>
</table>

<h2 id="part1.should.html">Talking about the way things are supposed to be</h2>
In this lesson, we'll learn how to express the way things are supposed depending on what we mean by "supposed". While the first two grammar points 「はず」 and
「べき」 come up often and are quite useful, you'll rarely ever encounter 「べく」 or 「べからず」. You can safely skip those lessons unless you are studying for the １級日本語検定.

<h2 id="part2.should.html">Using 「はず」 to describe an expectation</h2>
The first grammar we will learn is 「はず」, which is used to express something that was or is supposed to be. You can treat 「はず」 just
like a regular noun as it is usually attached to the adjective or verb that is supposed to be or supposed to happen.

<p>The only thing to be careful about here is expressing an expectation of something <i>not</i> happening. To do this, you must
use the negative existence verb 「ない」 to say that such an expectation does not exist. This might
be in the form of 「～はず<em>が</em>ない」 or 「～はず<em>は</em>ない」 depending on which particle you want to use.
The negative conjugation 「はず<em>じゃない</em>」 is really only used when you want to confirm in a positive sense such as 「～はずじゃないか？」.
</p>

<div class="sumbox">
<span class="summary">Using 「はず」 to describe an expectation</span>
<ul class="plain">
<li>Use 「はず」 just like a regular noun to modify the expected thing</li>
<li>例）　受験日の<em>はず</em> (noun)</li>
<li>例）　可能な<em>はず</em> (na-adjective)</li>
<li>例）　おいしい<em>はず</em> (i-adjective)</li>
<li>例）　帰る<em>はず</em> (verb)</li>
</ul>

<ul class="plain">
<li>For the case where you expect the negative, use the 「ない」 verb for nonexistence</li>
<li>例）　帰る<em>はず</em> → 帰るはずが<em>ない</em></li>
</ul>
</div>

<h3>Examples</h3>
<p>
（１）　彼は漫画マニアだから、これらをもう全部<em>読んだはず</em>だよ。
<br />- He's has a mania for comic book so I expect he read all these already.
</p>

<p>
（２）　この料理は<em>おいしいはず</em>だったが、焦げちゃって、まずくなった。
<br />- This dish was expected to be tasty but it burned and became distasteful.
</p>
<p>
（３）　色々予定してあるから、今年は楽しい<em>クリスマスのはず</em>。
<br />- Because various things have been planned out, I expect a fun Christmas this year.
</p>
<p>
（４）　そう簡単に<em>直せるはずがない</em>よ。
<br />- It's not supposed to be that easy to fix.
</p>
<p>
（５）　打合せは毎週２時から<em>始まるはず</em>じゃないですか？
<br />- This meeting is supposed to start every week at 2 o'clock, isn't it?
</p>

<p>
Here are <a href="http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/cgi-bin/cgiwrap/jwb/wwwjdic?1Q%C8%A6_1_">more examples</a> from the WWWJDIC.
<br />You may also want to check out the <a href="http://www.jekai.org/entries/aa/00/nn/aa00nn81.htm">jeKai entry</a>.
</p>

<h2 id="part3.should.html">Using 「べき」 to describe actions one should do</h2>
「べき」 is a verb suffix used to describe something that is supposed to be done. This suffix is commonly defined as "should", however, one must realize that it cannot
be used to make suggestions like the sentence, "You should go to the doctor." If you use 「べき」, it sounds more like, "You are supposed to go to the doctor."
「べき」 has a much stronger tone and makes you sound like a know-it-all telling people what to do. For making suggestions, it is customary to use the comparison
<a href="compare.html#part2.should.html">「方がいい」 grammar</a> instead.
For this reason, this grammar is almost never used to directly tell someone what to do. It is usually used in reference to oneself where you can be as bossy as you want or
in a neutral context where circumstances dictate what is proper and what is not. One such example would be a sentence like,
"We are supposed to raise our kids properly with a good education."

<p>Unlike the 「はず」 grammar, there is
no expectation that something is going to happen. Rather, this grammar describes what one should do in a given circumstance. In Japanese, you might define it as
meaning 「絶対ではないが、強く推奨されている」.
</p>


<p>There is very little of grammatical interest. 「べき」 works just like a regular noun and so you can conjugated it as 「べきじゃない」、「べきだった」, and so on.
The only thing to note here is that when you're using it with 「する」, the verb meaning "to do",
you can optionally drop the 「る」 from 「するべき」 to produce 「すべき」.
You can do this with this verb <u>only</u> and it does not apply for any other verbs even if the verb is written as 「する」 such as 「擦る」, the verb meaning "to rub".
</p>

<div class="sumbox">
<span class="summary">Using 「べき」 for actions that should be done</span>
<ul class="plain">
<li>Attach 「べき」 to the action that should be done</li>
<li>例）　行う → 行う<em>べき</em></li>
<li>例）　する → する<em>べき</em></li>
</ul>

<ul class="plain">
<li>For the generic "to do " verb 「する」 only, you can remove the 「る」</li>
<li>例）　す<em><strike>る</strike></em>べき → すべき</li>
</ul>

</div>

<h3>Examples</h3>

<p>
（１）　何かを買う前に本当に必要かどうかをよく<em>考えるべき</em>だ。
<br />- Before buying something, one <em>should</em> think well on whether it's really necessary or not.
</p>


<p>
（２）　例え国のためであっても、国民を<em>騙すべき</em>ではないと思う。
<br />- Even if it is, for example, for the country, I don't think the country's citizens <em>should</em> be deceived.
</p>

<p>
（３）　預金者が大手銀行を相手取って訴訟を起こすケースも出ており、金融庁は被害者の救済を優先させて、金融機関に犯罪防止対策の強化を促<em>すべき</em>だと判断。<a href="http://www.asahi.com/business/update/0110/022.html">（朝日新聞）</a>
<br />- With cases coming out of depositors suing large banks, the Financial Services Agency decided it <em>should</em> prioritize relief for victims and urge banks to strengthen measures for crime prevention.
</p>

<p>
Here are <a href="http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/cgi-bin/cgiwrap/jwb/wwwjdic?1Q%A4%D9%A4%AD_1_">more examples</a> from the WWWJDIC.
</p>


<h2 id="part4.should.html">Using 「べく」 to describe what one tries to do</h2>
Grammatically, 「べく」 is really a conjunctive form （連用形） of 「べき」, similar to what the <a href="compound.html#part3.should.html">te-form</a> does to connect another
phrase. However, what needs
mentioning here is that by changing it into a conjunctive and adding a predicate, the meaning of 「べく」 changes from the ordinary meaning of 「べき」. While 「べき」 describes a
strong suggestion, changing it to 「べく」 allows you to describe what one did in order to carry out that suggestion. Take a look that the following examples to see
how the meaning changes.

<p>
（１）　早く<em>帰るべき</em>。
<br /><em>Should</em> go home early.
</p>

<p>
（２）　早く<em>帰るべく</em>、準備をし始めた。
<br /><em>In trying to</em> go home early, started the preparations.
</p>

<p>As we can see in this example, adding the 「準備をし始めた」 tells us what the subject did in order to carry out the action he/she was supposed to do.
In this way we can define 「べく」 as meaning, "in order to" or "in an effort to". Similarly, 「べく」 might mean the Japanese equivalent of 「しようと思って」 or 「できるように」.
This is a very seldom-used old-fashioned expression and is merely presented here to completely cover all aspects of 「べき」.
</p>

<div class="sumbox">
<span class="summary">Using 「べく」 for actions that are attempted to be done</span>
<ul class="plain">
<li>Attach 「べく」 to the action that is attempted to be done</li>
<li>例）　行う → 行う<em>べく</em></li>
<li>例）　する → する<em>べく</em></li>
</ul>

<ul class="plain">
<li>Same as 「べき」, you can remove the 「る」 for the generic "to do " verb 「する」 only</li>
<li>例）　す<em><strike>る</strike></em>べく → すべく</li>
</ul>

</div>

<h3>Examples</h3>

<p>
（１）　試験に合格<em>すべく</em>、皆一生懸命に勉強している。
<br />Everybody is studying very hard <em>in an effort</em> to pass the exam.
</p>

<p>
（２）　今後もお客様との対話の窓口として、より充実<em>していくべく</em>努力してまいります
<br />We are working from here <em>in an effort</em> to provide a enriched window for customer interaction.
</p>

<h2 id="part5.should.html">Using 「べからず」 to describe things one must not do</h2>
Moving on to yet another from of 「べき」 is 「べからず」. This is undoubtedly related to the 「ず」 negative ending we learned in this <a href="negverb2.html#part2.should.html">previous section</a>.
However, it seems to be a conjugation of an old 未然形 of 「べから」. I have no idea what that means and you don't have to either. The only thing we need to take away
from this is that 「べからず」 expresses the opposite meaning of 「べき」 as an action that one must <b>not</b> do. I suppose the short abrupt ending of the 「ず」 form
makes this more useful for laying out rules. In fact, searching around on google comes up with a bunch of 「べし･ベからず」 or "do's and don'ts". （べし is an even older
form of べき, which I doubt you'll ever need.)


<div class="sumbox">
<span class="summary">Using 「べからず」 for actions that must <b>not</b> be done</span>
<ul class="plain">
<li>Attach 「べからず」 to the action that must not be done</li>
<li>例）　行う → 行う<em>べからず</em></li>
<li>例）　する → する<em>べからず</em></li>
</ul>

<ul class="plain">
<li>Same as 「べき」, you can remove the 「る」 for the generic "to do " verb 「する」 only</li>
<li>例）　す<em><strike>る</strike></em>べからず → すべからず</li>
</ul>

</div>

<h3>Examples</h3>

<p>
（１）　ゴミ<em>捨てるべからず</em>。
<br />-You <em>must not</em> throw away trash.
</p>

<p>
（２）　安全措置を<em>忘れるべからず</em>。
<br />-You <em>must not</em> forget the safety equipment.
</p>

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<p class="copyright">Copyright &copy; 2003-2007 Tae Kim (taekim.japanese AT gmail.com)</p>
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<a href="http://www.guidetojapanese.org/forum/viewforum.php?id=18">Report a correction or suggestion for this page</a>
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<div class="small" style="text-align:right;"><pre>This page has last been revised on 2005/1/13</pre></div>

<br class="break"/>
<h1>Naw, not even!</h1>

<br /><br /><br />

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
<tr><td>
<div class="outline">
<!-- outline menu -->
<center><span class="summary">Outline</span></center>
<ol>
<li><a href="#part1.even.html">Expressing the minimum expectation</a></li>
<li><a href="#part2.even.html">Using 「（で）さえ」 to describe the minimum requirement</a></li>
<li><a href="#part3.even.html">「（で）すら」 - Same as 「（で）さえ」 but different?</a></li>
<li><a href="#part4.even.html">「おろか」 - It's not even worth considering</a></li>
</ol>
</div>
</td></tr>
</table>


<h2 id="part1.even.html">Expressing the minimum expectation</h2>
In this section, we'll learn various ways to express the minimum expectation. This grammar is not used as often as you might think as there are
many situations where a simpler expression would sound more natural, but you should still become familiar with it.

<h2 id="part2.even.html">Using 「（で）さえ」 to describe the minimum requirement</h2>
In English, we might say, "not even close" to show that not even the minimum expectation has been met. In Japanese, we can express this by
attaching 「さえ」 to the object or verb that miserably failed to reach what one would consider as a given. Let's see some examples of this with nouns
first.  You can also use the same grammar in a positive sentence to show that that is all you need to produce a desired effect.

<h3>Examples</h3>

<p>
（１）　宿題が多すぎて、トイレに行く時間<em>さえ</em>なかった。
<br />- There was so much homework, I didn't even have time to go to the bathroom.
</p>

<p>
（２）　お金<em>さえ</em>あれば、何でも出来るよ。
<br />- The least you need is money and you can do anything.
</p>

<p>
（３）　お弁当を買うお金<em>さえ</em>なかった。
<br />- I didn't even have money to buy lunch.
</p>

<p>
For nouns <u>only</u>, you can add 「で」 and use 「でさえ」 instead of just 「さえ」. There are no grammatical differences but it does sound a
bit more emphatic.
</p>

<p>
（４）　私<em>でさえ</em>出来れば、あんたには楽ちんでしょう。
<br />- If even I can do it, it should be a breeze for you.
</p>

<p>You can also attach 「さえ」 to the stem of verbs to express a minimum action for a result. This is usually followed up immediately by 「する」 to
show that the minimum action was done (or not done in the case of negative).</p>

<p>
（５）　ビタミンを<em>食べさえ</em>すれば、健康が保証されますよ。
<br />- If you just eat vitamins, your health will be guaranteed.
</p>

<p>
（６）　自分の過ちを<em>認めさえ</em>しなければ、問題は解決しないよ。
<br />- The problem won't be solved if you don't even recognize your own mistake, you know.
</p>

<div class="sumbox">
<span class="summary">Using 「（で）さえ」 to describe the minimum requirement</span>
<ul class="plain">
<li>For nouns, attach 「さえ」 or 「でさえ」 to the minimum requirement</li>
<li>例）　私<em>さえ</em> - even me</li>
<li>例）　子供<em>でさえ</em> - even children</li>
<li>For verbs, change the verb to the <a href="polite.html#part2.even.html"><i>stem</i></a> and attach 「さえ」</li>
<li>例）　食べ<em><strike>る</strike></em> → 食べ<em>さえ</em></li>
<li>例）　行<em>く</em> → 行<em>き</em> → 行き<em>さえ</em></li>
</ul>
</div>


<h2 id="part3.even.html">「（で）すら」 - Same as 「（で）さえ」 but different?</h2>
「（で）すら」 is a variation of 「（で）さえ」 that means essentially the same thing and is used in the exact same way. However, it is more obscure and is usually
ignored in favor of 「（で）さえ」. The main reason we are covering it here is because since it's the same as 「（で）さえ」, it's a cinch to go over. Plus, it's covered
in the Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT) level 1 (if you're thinking of taking that).

<h3>Examples</h3>

<p>
（１）　この天才の私<em>ですら</em>わからなかった。
<br />- Even a genius such as myself couldn't solve it.
</p>

<p>
（２）　私は緊張しすぎて、ちらっと見ること<em>すら</em>出来ませんでした。
<br />- I was so nervous that I couldn't even take a quick peek.
</p>

<p>
（３）　「人」の漢字<em>すら</em>知らない生徒は、いないでしょ！
<br />- There are no students that don't even know the 「人」 kanji!
</p>

<div class="sumbox">
<span class="summary">「（で）すら」 is used in exactly the same way as 「（で）さえ」 and means the same thing to boot</span>
<ul class="plain">
<li>For nouns, attach 「すら」 or 「ですら」 to the minimum requirement</li>
<li>例）　私<em>すら</em> - Even me</li>
<li>例）　子供<em>ですら</em> - Even children</li>
<li>For verbs, change the verb to the <a href="polite.html#part2.even.html"><i>stem</i></a> and attach 「さえ」</li>
<li>例）　食べ<em><strike>る</strike></em> → 食べ<em>すら</em></li>
<li>例）　行<em>く</em> → 行<em>き</em> → 行き<em>すら</em></li>
<li>However, it is more common to attach the generic noun 「こと」 to the verb and just
treat the whole thing as a regular noun. （ie 食べることすら and 行くことすら）</li>
</ul>
</div>

<h2 id="part4.even.html">「おろか」 - It's not even worth considering</h2>
I suspect this grammar comes from the adjective 「愚か」 which means to be foolish or stupid. However, in this case, you're not making fun of something, rather by
using 「おろか」, you can indicate that something is so ridiculous that it's not even worth considering. In English, we might say something
like, "Are you kidding? I can't touch my knees much less do a full split!" In this example, the full split is so beyond the person's abilities that it would
be foolish to even consider it.

<h3>Examples</h3>

<p>
（１）　漢字は<em>おろか</em>、ひらがなさえ読めないよ！
<br />- Forget about kanji, I can't even read hiragana!
</p>

<p>
（２）　結婚は<em>おろか</em>、2ヶ月付き合って、結局別れてしまった。
<br />- We eventually broke up after going out two months much less get married.
</p>

<p>
（３）　大学は<em>おろか</em>、高校すら卒業しなかった。
<br />- I didn't even graduate from high school much less college.
</p>

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<br class="break"/>
<h1>I saw the sign</h1>

<br /><br /><br />

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
<tr><td>
<div class="outline">
<!-- outline menu -->
<center><span class="summary">Outline</span></center>
<ol>
<li><a href="#part1.signs.html">Showing signs of something</a></li>
<li><a href="#part2.signs.html">Showing outward signs of an emotion using 「～がる」</a></li>
<li><a href="#part3.signs.html">Using 「ばかり」 to act as if one might do something</a></li>
<li><a href="#part4.signs.html">Using 「めく」 to indicate an atmosphere of a state</a></li>
</ol>
</div>
</td></tr>
</table>


<h2 id="part1.signs.html">Showing signs of something</h2>
In this lesson, we'll learn various expressions involving how to describe people who are expressing themselves without words.
For example, we'll learn how to say expressions in Japanese such as "They <u>acted</u> as if they were saying goodbye," "He <u>acted</u> disgusted," and
"She <u>acts</u> like she wants to go."



<h2 id="part2.signs.html">Showing outward signs of an emotion using 「～がる」</h2>
The 「～がる」 grammar is used when you want to make an observation about how someone is feeling. This is simply an observation based on some type of
sign(s). Therefore, you would not use it for your own emotions since guessing about your own emotions is not necessary. This grammar can only be used with
adjectives so you can use this grammar to say, "He is acting scared," but you cannot say "He acted surprised," because "to be surprised" is a verb in Japanese
and not an adjective.
This grammar is also commonly used with a certain set of adjectives related to emotions such as: 「嫌」、「怖い」、「嬉しい」、or 「恥ずかしい」.


<div class="sumbox">
<span class="summary">Using 「～がる」 for observing the emotions or feelings of others</span>
<ul class="plain">
<li><b>For i-adjectives</b>: First remove the trailing 「い」 from the i-adjective and then attach 「がる」</li>
<li>例）　怖<em><strike>い</strike></em> → 怖<em>がる</em></li>
<li><b>For na-adjectives</b>: Just attach 「がる」 to the end of the na-adjective</li>
<li>例）　重宝 → 重宝<em>がる</em></li>
</ul>
<center>
<table border="1" cellpadding="5">
<caption>All adjectives that are conjugated with 「～がる」 become an u-verb</caption>
<tr align="center"><th></th><th colspan="2">Positive</th><th colspan="2">Negative</th></tr>
<tr align="center"><th>Non-Past</th><td>怖がる</td><td>act scared</td><td>怖がらない</td><td>not act scared</td></tr>
<tr align="center"><th>Past</th><td>怖がった</td><td>acted scared</td><td>怖がらなかった</td><td>didn't act scared</td></tr>
</table>
</center>
</div>


<h3>Examples</h3>
<p>
（１）　早くきてよ！何を<em>恥ずかしがっている</em>の？
<br />- Hurry up and come here. What are you acting all embarrassed for?
</p>

<p>
（２）　彼女は朝早く起こされるのを<em>嫌がる</em>タイプです。
<br />- My girlfriend is the type to show dislike towards getting woken up early in the morning.
</p>

<p>
（３）　うちの子供はプールに入るのを理由もなく<em>怖がる</em>。
<br />- Our child acts afraid about entering a pool without any reason.
</p>

<p>
This grammar is also used to observe very frankly on what you think someone other than yourself wants.
This involves the adjective 「欲しい」 for things one wants or the <a href="desire.html#part2.signs.html">「～たい」 conjugation</a> for actions one wants to do,
which is essentially a verb conjugated to an i-adjective. This type of grammar is more suited for things like narration in a story
and is rarely used in this fashion for normal conversations because of its impersonal style of observation. For casual conversations, it is more common to
use <a href="certainty.html#part4.signs.html">「でしょう」</a> such as in, 「カレーを食べたいでしょう。」.
For polite conversations, it is normal to not make any assumptions at all or to use the <a href="adgobi.html#part5.signs.html">「よね」 sentence ending</a> such as in
「カレーを食べたいですか。」 or 「カレーを食べたいですよね。」
</p>

<h3>Examples</h3>

<p>
（１）　家に帰ったら、すぐパソコンを<em>使いたがる</em>。
<br />- [He] soon acts like wanting to use computer as soon as [he] gets home.
</p>

<p>
（２）　みんなイタリアに<em>行きたがってる</em>んだけど、私の予算で行けるかどうかはとても怪しい。
<br />- Everybody is acting like they want to go to Italy but it's suspicious whether I can go or not going by my budget.
</p>

<p>
（３）　妻はルイヴィトンのバッグを<em>欲しがっている</em>んだけど、そんなもん、買えるわけないでしょう！
<br />- My wife was showing signs of wanting a Louis Vuitton bag but there's no way I can buy something like that!
</p>

<p>
「～がる」 is also used with 「屋」 to indicate a type of person that often feels a certain way such as 「恥ずかしがり屋」 (one who easily feels or acts embarrassed)、
「寒がり屋」 (one who easily feels cold)、or 「暑がり屋」 (one who easily feels hot).
</p>

<p>
（３）　私は<em>寒がり屋</em>だから、ミネソタで暮らすのは辛かった。
<br />- I'm the type who easily gets cold and so living in Minnesota was painful.
</p>

<h2 id="part3.signs.html">Using 「ばかり」 to act as if one might do something</h2>
We just learned how to observe the emotions and feelings of other by using 「～がる」 with adjectives. But what about verbs? Indeed, there is a separate grammar
used to express the fact that someone else looks like they are about to do something but actually does not. Similar to the 「～がる」 grammar, this is usually not
used in normal everyday conversations. I have seen it several times in books and novels but have yet to hear this grammar in a conversation.

<p>For the regular non-past, non-negative verb, you must first conjugate the verb to the negative ending with 「ん」,
which was covered <a href="negverb2.html#part3.signs.html">here</a>. Then, you just attach 「ばかり」 to the end of the verb.  For all other conjugations, nothing else is
necessary except to just add 「ばかり」 to the verb. The most common verb used with this grammar is 「言う」 . It is also usually used with the 「に」
target particle attached to the end of 「ばかり」.
</p>

<p>This grammar
is completely different from the 「ばかり」 used to express <a href="amount.html#part5.signs.html">amounts</a> and the 「ばかり」 used to express the
<a href="timeaction2.html#part2.signs.html">proximity of an action</a>.
</p>

<div class="sumbox">
<span class="summary">Using 「ばかり」 to indicate that one seems to want to do something</span>
<ul class="plain">
<li><b>For present, non-negative tense</b>: Conjugate the verb to the <a href="negverb2.html#part3.signs.html">「ん」 negative form</a> and attach 「ばかり」</li>
<li>例）　言<em><strike>う</strike></em> → 言わ<em><strike>ない</strike></em> → 言わ<em>ん</em> → 言わん<em>ばかり</em></li>
<li><b>For all other tenses</b>: Simply attach 「ばかり」 to the end of the verb</li>
<li>例）　言わなかった → 言わなかった<em>ばかり</em></li>
</ul>
<center>
<table border="1" cellpadding="5">
<caption>Summary of basic conjugations</caption>
<tr align="center"><th></th><th colspan="2">Positive</th><th colspan="2">Negative</th></tr>
<tr align="center"><th>Non-Past</th><td>言わんばかり</td><td>as if to say</td><td>言わないばかり</td><td>as if [she] doesn't say</td></tr>
<tr align="center"><th>Past</th><td>言ったばかり</td><td>as if [she] said</td><td>言わなかったばかり</td><td>as if [she] didn't say</td></tr>
</table>
</center>
</div>

<h3>Examples</h3>

<p>
（１）　ボールは爆発<em>せんばかり</em>に、膨らんでいた。
<br />- The ball was expanding as if it was going to explode.
</p>

<p>
（２）　「あんたと関係ない」と<em>言わんばかり</em>に彼女は彼を無視していた。
<br />- She ignored him as if to say, "You have nothing to do with this."
</p>

<p>
（３）　昨日のケンカで何も<em>言わなかったばかり</em>に、平気な顔をしている。
<br />- Has a calm face as if [he] didn't say anything during the fight yesterday.
</p>

<h2 id="part4.signs.html">Using 「めく」 to indicate an atmosphere of a state</h2>
By now, you're probably thinking, "Ok, we've done adjectives and verbs. What about nouns?" As a matter of fact, there is a similar grammar that is used
usually for nouns and na-adjectives. It is used to indicate that something is showing the signs of a certain state. Unlike the 「～がる」 grammar, there is
no action that indicates anything; merely the atmosphere gives off the impression of the state.
Just like the previous grammar we learned in this section, this grammar has a list of commonly used nouns such as 「謎」、「秘密」、or  「皮肉」.
This grammar is used by simply attaching 「めく」 to the noun or na-adjective. The result then becomes a regular u-verb.

<div class="sumbox">
<span class="summary">Using 「めく」 to indicate that one seems to want to do something</span>
<ul class="plain">
<li>Simply attach 「めく」 to the noun or na-adjective. The result then becomes a regular u-verb.</li>
<li>例）　謎 → 謎<em>めく</em></li>
</ul>
<center>
<table border="1" cellpadding="5">
<caption>Summary of basic conjugations</caption>
<tr align="center"><th></th><th colspan="2">Positive</th><th colspan="2">Negative</th></tr>
<tr align="center"><th>Non-Past</th><td>謎めく</td><td>puzzling atmosphere</td><td>*謎めかない</td><td>not puzzling atmosphere</td></tr>
<tr align="center"><th>Past</th><td>謎めいた</td><td>puzzled atmosphere</td><td>*謎めかなかった</td><td>not puzzled atmosphere</td></tr>
</table>
<br />* I suppose the negative tenses are theoretically possible but probably not practically.
<br />The most common tense is by the far the past tense.
</center>
</div>

<h3>Examples</h3>

<p>
（１）　紅葉が始まり、すっかり<em>秋めいた</em>空気になってきた。
<br />- With the leaves starting to change color, the air came to become quite autumn like.
</p>

<p>
（２）　そんな<em>謎めいた</em>顔をされても、うまく説明できないよ。
<br />- Even having that kind of puzzled look done to me, I can't explain it very well, you know.
</p>

<p>
（３）　いつも<em>皮肉めいた</em>言い方をしたら、みんなを嫌がらせるよ。
<br />- You'll make everyone dislike you if you keep speaking with that ironic tone, you know.
</p>

<p>For a whole slew of additional real world examples, check out the <a href="http://www.jekai.org/entries/aa/00/np/aa00np21.htm">jeKai entry</a>.
It states that the grammar can be used for adverbs and other parts of speech but none of the numerous examples show this and even assuming it's possible, it's
probably not practiced in reality.</p>

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<div class="small" style="text-align:right;"><pre>This page has last been revised on 2004/11/14</pre></div>

<br class="break"/>
<h1>Expressions of non-feasibility</h1>

<br /><br /><br />

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
<tr><td>
<div class="outline">
<!-- outline menu -->
<center><span class="summary">Outline</span></center>
<ol>
<li><a href="#part1.feasibility.html">Advanced expressions of non-feasibility</a></li>
<li><a href="#part2.feasibility.html">Expressing the inability to not do something using 「～ざるを得ない」</a></li>
<li><a href="#part3.feasibility.html">Expressing the inability to stop doing something using 「やむを得ない」</a></li>
<li><a href="#part4.feasibility.html">Expressing what cannot be done with 「～かねる」</a></li>
</ol>
</div>
</td></tr>
</table>


<h2 id="part1.feasibility.html">Advanced expressions of non-feasibility</h2>
We learned how to express feasibility in the section on the <a href="potential.html">potential form</a> quite a while ways back.
In this section, we'll learn some advanced and specialized ways to express certain types of feasibility or the lack thereof. Like much of
the grammar in the Advanced Section, the grammar covered here is mostly used for written works and rarely used in regular speech.


<h2 id="part2.feasibility.html">Expressing the inability to not do using 「～ざるを得ない」</h2>
This grammar is used when there's something that just can't be helped and must be done. It is the negative version of the grammar
we <a href="haveto.html">previously covered</a> for something that has to be done. It uses the negative of the verb 「得る」 or "obtain",
to roughly mean that "one cannot obtain not doing of an action". This means that you can't not do something even if you wanted to. As a result of the
use of double negatives, this grammar carries a slight suggestion that you really don't want to do it, but you have to because it can't be helped.
Really, the negative connotation is the only difference between this grammar and the grammar we covered in this <a href="haveto.html">"have to" section</a>.
That, and the fact that this grammar is fancier and more advanced.

<p>This grammar uses an archaic negative form of verbs that ends in 「～ざる」. It is really not used in modern Japanese with the exception of this grammar and some
expressions such as 「意図せざる」. The rules for conjugation are the same as the negative verbs we covered in <a href="negverb2.html#part2.feasibility.html">this section</a>, except this
grammar attaches 「ざる」 instead. To reiterate, all you have to do is conjugate the verb to the negative form and then replace the 「ない」 with 「ざる」. The
two exception verbs are 「する」 which becomes 「せざる」 and 「くる」 which becomes 「こざる」. Finally, all that's left to be done is to attach 「を得ない」 to the
verb. It is also not uncommon to use hiragana instead of the kanji.
</p>

<div class="sumbox">
<span class="summary">Using 「～ざるを得ない」 for actions that must be done</span>
<ul>
<li>To say that you can't not do something replace the 「ない」 part of the negative verb with 「ざる」, then attach 「を得ない」 to the end of the verb.
<br />例）　食<em><strike>る</strike></em> → 食べ<em><strike>ない</strike></em> → 食べ<em>ざる</em> → 食べざる<em>を得ない</em>
<br />例）　行<em><strike>く</strike></em> → 行か<em><strike>ない</strike></em> → 行か<em>ざる</em> → 行かざる<em>を得ない</em></li>
<li>The two exception verbs 「する」 and 「くる」 become 「せざる」 and 「こざる」 respectively.
<br />例外1）　<em>する</em> → <em>せざる</em> → せざる<em>をえない</em>
<br />例外2）　<em>くる</em> → <em>こざる</em> → こざる<em>をえない</em></li>
</ul>
</div>

<h3>Examples</h3>
（１）　このテレビがこれ以上壊れたら、新しいのを<em>買わざるを得ない</em>な。
<br /> - If this TV breaks even more, there's no choice but to buy a new one.
<p>（２）　ずっと我慢してきたが、この状態だと歯医者さんに<em>行かざるを得ない</em>。
<br /> - I tolerated it all this time but in this situation, I can't not go to the dentist.
</p>
<p>（３）　上司の話を聞くと、どうしても海外に出張を<em>せざるを得ない</em>ようです。
<br /> - Hearing the story from the boss, it seems like I can't not go on a business trip overseas no matter what.
</p>

<h2 id="part3.feasibility.html">Expressing the inability to stop doing something using 「やむを得ない」</h2>
This grammar is very similar to the one we just learned above except that it uses the verb 「止む」 to say that one cannot obtain the stopping of something.
Remember that we normally can't just attach the 「を」 direct object particle to verbs, so this is really a set expression. Just like the previous grammar we
learned, it is used to describe something that one is forced to do due to some circumstances. The difference here is that this is a complete phrase,
which can be used for a general situation that doesn't involve any specific action. In other words, you're not actually forced to <i>do</i> something; rather
it describes a situation that cannot be helped. If you have already learned 「仕方がない」 or 「しょうがない」, this grammar means pretty much the same thing.
The difference lies in whether you want to say, "Looks like we're stuck" vs "Due to circumstances beyond our control..."

<p>Since this is a set expression, there are really no grammar points to discuss. You only need to take the phrase and use it as you would any regular
subordinate clause.</p>

<h3>Examples</h3>
（１）　<em>やむを得ない</em>事由により手続が遅れた場合、必ずご連絡下さい。
<br />- If the paperwork should be late due to uncontrollable circumstance, please make sure to contact us.
<p>（２）　この仕事は厳しいかもしれませんが、最近の不景気では新しい仕事が見つからないので<em>やむを得ない</em>状態です。
<br />- This job may be bad but with the recent economic downturn, it's a situation where nothing can be done.
</p>

<h2 id="part4.feasibility.html">Expressing what cannot be done with 「～かねる」</h2>
The meaning and usage of 「かねる」 is covered pretty well in this <a href="http://www.jekai.org/entries/aa/00/np/aa00np03.htm">jeKai entry</a> with
plenty of examples.
While much of this is a repetition of what's written there, 「かねる」 is a ru-verb that is used as a suffix to other verbs to express the fact that something is
impossible.
By impossible, we are not talking so much about physical impossibility, such as creating matter out of nothing, but more about what cannot be accomplished
given certain conditions.

<p>「かねる」 is more often used in the negative tense as 「かねない」 to indicate that there is a possibility that the verb in question might happen. As the jeKai entry
mentions, this is usually in reference to something bad, which you might express in English as, "there is a risk that..." or "there is a fear that..."
</p>

<p>One important thing that the jeKai doesn't mention is how you would go about using this grammar. It's not difficult and you may have already guessed from the example
sentences that all you need to do is just attach 「かねる」 or 「かねない」 to the <a href="polite.html#part2.feasibility.html">stem</a> of the verb.
</p>

<div class="sumbox">
<span class="summary">Using 「～かねる」 for things that cannot be done</span>
<ul>
<li>To say that something cannot be done using 「かねる」, change the verb to the <a href="polite.html#part2.feasibility.html">stem</a> and attach 「かねる」
<br />例）　決め<em><strike>る</strike></em> → 決め<em>かねる</em>
<br />例）　<em><strike>する</strike></em> → し<em>かねる</em></li>
<li>「かねる」 is the same as a regular ru-verb so you negate it to 「かねない」 to say that something (bad) might happen.
<br />例）　な<em><strike>る</strike></em> → なり<em>かね<strike>る</strike></em> → なりかね<em>ない</em>
<br />例）　<em><strike>する</strike></em> → し<em>かね<strike>る</strike></em> → しかね<em>ない</em></li>
</ul>
</div>

<h3>Examples</h3>
（１）　この場ではちょっと<em>決めかねます</em>ので、また別途会議を設けましょう。
<br />- Since making a decision here is impossible, let's set up a separate meeting again.
<p>（２）　このままでは、個人情報が漏洩<em>しかねない</em>ので、速やかに対応をお願い致します。
<br />- At this rate, there is a possibility that personal information might leak so I request that this be dealt with promptly.
</p>

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<div class="small" style="text-align:right;"><pre>This page has last been revised on 2006/9/14</pre></div>

<br class="break"/>
<h1>Tendencies tend to be that way</h1>

<br /><br /><br />

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
<tr><td>
<div class="outline">
<!-- outline menu -->
<center><span class="summary">Outline</span></center>
<ol>
<li><a href="#part1.tendency.html">Various ways of expressing tendencies</a></li>
<li><a href="#part2.tendency.html">Saying something is apt to occur using 「～がち」</a></li>
<li><a href="#part3.tendency.html">Describing an ongoing occurrence using 「～つつ」</a></li>
<li><a href="#part4.tendency.html">Describing a negative tendency using 「きらいがある」</a></li>
</ol>
</div>
</td></tr>
</table>


<h2 id="part1.tendency.html">Various ways of expressing tendencies</h2>
In this lesson, we will go over various types of grammar that deal with tendencies. Like much of the Advanced Section, all the
grammar in this lesson are used mostly in written works and are generally not used in conversational Japanese.

<h2 id="part2.tendency.html">Saying something is apt to occur using 「～がち」</h2>
This is arguably the most useful grammar in this lesson in terms of practically. By that, I mean that it's the only grammar here that you might actually hear in
a regular conversation though again, it is far more common in a written context.

<p>
With this grammar, you can say that something is likely to occur by simply attaching 「がち」 to the stem of the verb. While, 「がち」 is a suffix, it works in much same
way as a noun or <a href="tendency.html#part2.tendency.html">na-adjective</a>. In other words, the result becomes a description of something as being likely.
This means that we can do things like modifying nouns by attaching 「な」 and other things we're used to doing with na-adjectives.
</p>

<p>
You can also say that something is prone to <b>be</b> something by simply attaching 「がち」 to the noun.
</p>

<div class="sumbox">
<span class="summary">Using 「～がち」 as a description of an action apt to occur</span>
<ul>
<li>To describe an action that's prone to occur using 「がち」, attach 「がち」 to the <a href="polite.html#part2.tendency.html">stem</a> of the verb.
<br />例）　見<em><strike>る</strike></em> → 見<em>がち</em>
<br />例）　な<em><strike>る</strike></em> → な<em>り</em> → なり<em>がち</em></li>
<li>To say that something is prone to be something, attach 「がち」 to the appropriate noun
<br />例）　病気 → 病気<em>がち</em></li>
</ul>
<center>
<table border="1" cellpadding="5">
<caption>All adjectives that are conjugated with 「～がち」 become a noun/na-adjective</caption>
<tr align="center"><th></th><th colspan="2">Positive</th><th colspan="2">Negative</th></tr>
<tr align="center"><th>Non-Past</th><td>なりがち</td><td>apt to become</td><td>なりがちじゃない</td><td>is not apt to become</td></tr>

<tr align="center"><th>Past</th><td>なりがちだった</td><td>was apt to become</td><td>なりがちじゃなかった</td><td>was not apt to become</td></tr>

</table>
</center>
</div>

<h3>Examples</h3>
<p>
（１）　確定申告は<em>忘れがち</em>な手続のひとつだ。
<br /> - Filing income taxes is one of those processes that one is apt to forget.
</p>

<p>
（２）　留守<em>がち</em>なご家庭には、犬よりも、猫の方がおすすめです。
<br /> - For families that tend to be away from home, cats are recommended over dogs.
</p>

<p>
（３）　父親は病気<em>がち</em>で、みんなが心配している。
<br /> - Father is prone to illness and everybody is worried.
</p>

For more examples, check out the <a href="http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/cgi-bin/cgiwrap/jwb/wwwjdic?1Q%A4%AC%A4%C1_0__">WWWJDIC examples</a>.

<h2 id="part3.tendency.html">Describing an ongoing occurrence using 「～つつ」</h2>
「つつ」 is a verb modifier that can be attached to the stem of verbs to express an ongoing occurrence. Though the meaning stays essentially the same, there are
essentially two ways to use this grammar. The first is almost identical to the <a href="timeaction2.html#part4.tendency.html">「～ながら」 grammar</a>. You can use 「つつ」 to
describe an action that is taking place while another action is ongoing. However, there are several major differences between 「つつ」 and 「～ながら」.
First, the tone of 「つつ」 is very different from that of 「～ながら」 and you would rarely, if ever, use it for regular everyday occurences. To go along with this,
「つつ」 is more appropriate for more literary or abstract actions such as those involving emotions or thoughts.
Second, 「～ながら」 is used to describe an auxiliary action that takes place while the main action is going on. However, with 「つつ」, both actions have equal weight.

<p>For example, it would sound very strange to say the following.</p>
<p>
（誤）　テレビを<em>見つつ</em>、寝ちゃダメよ！- (Sounds unnatural)
</p>
<p>
（１）　テレビを<em>見ながら</em>、寝ちゃタメよ！- Don't watch TV while sleeping!
</p>

<p>The second way to use this grammar is to express the existence of a continuing process by using 「ある」, the verb for existence. Everything is the same as before
except that you  attach 「ある」 to 「つつ」 to produce 「～つつある」.
This is often used in magazine or newspaper articles to describe a certain trend or tide.
</p>


<div class="sumbox">
<span class="summary">Using 「～つつ」 to describe a repetitive occurrence</span>
<ul>
<li>To describe an ongoing action using 「つつ」, attach 「つつ」 to the <a href="polite.html#part2.tendency.html">stem</a> of the verb.
<br />例）　見<em><strike>る</strike></em> → 見<em>つつ</em>
<br />例）　思<em><strike>う</strike></em> → 思<em>い</em> → 思い<em>つつ</em></li>
<li>To show the existence of a trend or tide, add 「ある」 to 「つつ」
<br />例）　な<em><strike>る</strike></em> → な<em>り</em> → なり<em>つつ</em> → なりつつ<em>ある</em></li>
</ul>
</div>

<h3>Examples</h3>
<p>
（１）　二日酔いで痛む頭を<em>押さえつつ</em>、トイレに入った。
<br /> - Went into the bathroom while holding an aching head from a hangover.
</p>
<p>（２）　体によくないと<em>思いつつ</em>、最近は全然運動してない。
<br /> - While thinking it's bad for body, haven't exercised at all recently.
</p>
<p>（３）　電気製品の発展につれて、ハードディスクの容量はますます大きく<em>なりつつある</em>。
<br /> - With the development of electronic goods, hard disk drive capacities are becoming ever larger.
</p>
<p>（４）　今の日本では、終身雇用や年功序列という雇用慣行が<em>崩れつつある</em>。
<br /> - In today's Japan, hiring practices like life-time employment and age-based ranking are tending to break down.
</p>

For more examples, check out the <a href="http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/cgi-bin/cgiwrap/jwb/wwwjdic?1Q%A4%C4%A4%C4_0__">WWWJDIC examples</a>.

<h2 id="part4.tendency.html">Describing a negative tendency using 「きらいがある」</h2>
「きらいがある」 is a fixed expression used to describe a bad tendency or habit. I suspect that 「きらい」 here <i>might</i> have something to do with the word for hateful: 「嫌い」.
However, unlike 「嫌い」, which is a na-adjective, the 「きらい」 in this grammar functions as a noun. This is made plain by the fact that the 「が」 particle comes right
after 「きらい」, which is not allowed for adjectives. The rest of the phrase is simply expressing the fact that the negative tendency exists.

<div class="sumbox">
<span class="summary">Using 「きらいがある」 to describe a negative tendency</span>
<ul>
<li>The 「きらい」 in this grammar functions as a noun. 「ある」 is simply the existence verb for inanimate objects.
<br />例）　依存症<em>の</em>きらいがある。</li>
</ul>
</div>

<h3>Examples</h3>
<p>
（１）　多くの大学生は、締切日ぎりぎりまで、宿題をやらない<em>きらいがある</em>。
<br /> - A lot of college students have a bad tendency of not doing their homework until just barely it's due date.
</p>

<p>
（２）　コーディングが好きな開発者は、ちゃんとしたドキュメント作成と十分なテストを怠る<em>きらいがある</em>。
<br /> - Developers that like coding have a bad tendency to neglect proper documents and adequate testing.
</p>


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<div class="small" style="text-align:right;"><pre>This page has last been revised on 2005/3/15</pre></div>

<br class="break"/>
<h1>Very Volatile Volitional</h1>

<br /><br /><br />

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
<tr><td>
<div class="outline">
<!-- outline menu -->
<center><span class="summary">Outline</span></center>
<ol>
<li><a href="#part1.adv_volitional.html">More Advanced Volitional Forms</a></li>
<li><a href="#part2.adv_volitional.html">Negative Volitional</a></li>
<li><a href="#part3.adv_volitional.html">Using the volitional to express a lack of relation</a></li>
<li><a href="#part4.adv_volitional.html">Using 「であろう」 to express likelihood</a></li>
<li><a href="#part5.adv_volitional.html">Using 「かろう」 to express volition for 「い」 endings</a></li>
</ol>
</div>
</td></tr>
</table>


<h2 id="part1.adv_volitional.html">More Advanced Volitional Forms</h2>
We learned in a previous lesson that the <a href="desire.html#part4.adv_volitional.html">volitional form</a> is used when one is set out to do something. In this section, we're going
to cover some other ways in which the volitional form is used, most notably, the negative volitional form.

<h2 id="part2.adv_volitional.html">Negative Volitional</h2>
You may have seen the negative volitional form in a verb conjugation table and wondered, "What the heck is that used for?" Well the answer is not much, or
to put it more accurately, there are various ways it can be used but almost all of them are extremely stiff, formal, and seldom used.  In fact, it's so
rare that I only found <a href="http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~jwb/wwwverbinf.html">one explanation</a> in English on the web or anywhere
else. (I also found this
<a href="http://www.geocities.jp/niwasaburoo/32kanyuuisi.html#32.10">one</a> in Japanese.)

<p>
The negative volitional is used to express negative intention. This means that there is a will for something to <b>not</b> happen or that someone
is set out to <b>not</b> do something. As a result, because one is trying not to do something, it's probably not going to happen. Essentially, it is a very stiff and formal version of
<a href="certainty.html#part3.adv_volitional.html">「でしょう」</a> and <a href="certainty.html#part4.adv_volitional.html">「だろう」</a>. While this form is practically never used in daily conversations, you might still
hear it in movies, etc.
</p>

<p>
Verbs are conjugated to the negative volitional by simply attaching 「まい」 to the verb. Another alternative is to attach 「まい」 to the stem.
The conjugation for the negative volitional is quite different from those we are used to because it is always the last conjugation to apply even for the
masu-form. There is no way to conjugate 「まい」 to the masu-form, you simply attach 「まい」 to the masu-form conjugation.
</p>

<div class="sumbox">
<span class="summary">Using 「まい」 to express a will to not do something</span>
<ul>
<li>Attach 「まい」 to the end of the verb
<br />例）　見る → 見る<em>まい</em>
<br />例）　行<em>く</em> → 行く<em>まい</em></li>
<li>You can also add 「まい」 to the stem
<br />例）　<em>する</em> → し<em>まい</em>
<br />例）　認め<em><strike>る</strike></em> → 認め<em>まい</em></li>
<li>This conjugation must always come last.  For masu-form, attach 「まい」 to the masu-form verb.
<br />例）　な<em><strike>る</strike></em> → な<em>り</em> → なり<em>ます</em> → なります<em>まい</em></li>
</ul>
</div>

<h3>Examples</h3>

<p>
（１）　相手は剣の達人だ。そう簡単には<em>勝てまい</em>。
<br /> - Your opponent is a master of the sword. I doubt you can win so easily.
</p>

<p>
（２）　そんな無茶な手段は<em>認めますまい</em>！
<br /> - I won't approve of such an unreasonable method！
</p>


<p>
We already learned that you could use the volitional form <a href="desire.html#part4.adv_volitional.html">to say "let's"</a> and <a href="try.html#part3.adv_volitional.html">to express an attempt do
something</a>.  But that doesn't mean you can use the negative volitional to say "let's not" or "try not to".  The tone of this grammar is one of very strong determination to not do something, as you can see in the following examples.
</p>

<p>
（１）　その時までは決して彼に<em>会うまい</em>と心に決めていた。
<br /> - Until that time, I had decided in my heart to not meet him by any means.
</p>

<p>
（２）　あの人は、二度と嘘を<em>つくまい</em>と誓ったのです。
<br /> - That person had sworn to never lie again.
</p>

<p>In order to express "let's not", you can use the verb, 「やめる」 with the regular volitional. In order to express an effort to
not do something, you can use <a href="surunaru.html#part4.adv_volitional.html">「ようにする」</a> with the negative verb.</p>

<p>
（１）　明日に行くのを<em>やめよう</em>。
<br /> - Let's not go tomorrow. (lit: Let's quit going tomorrow.)
</p>

<p>
（２）　肉を食べない<em>ようにしている</em>。
<br /> - Trying not to eat meat.
</p>

<h2 id="part3.adv_volitional.html">Using the volitional to express a lack of relation</h2>
We will now learn a grammar that's actually practical for everyday use using the negative volitional grammar. Basically, we can use both
volitional and negative volitional forms to say it doesn't matter whether something is going to happen or not. This is done by attaching
「が」 to both the volitional and the negative volitional form of the verb that doesn't matter.

<div class="sumbox">
<span class="summary">Using the volitional to express a lack of relation</span>
<ul>
<li>Attach 「が」 to the volitional and negative volitional form of the verb.
<br />例）　見る → 見<em>よう</em>、見<em>まい</em> → 見よう<em>が</em>見まい<em>が</em>
<br />例）　食べる → 食べ<em>よう</em>、食べる<em>まい</em> → 食べよう<em>が</em>食べるまい<em>が</em>
</li>
</ul>
</div>

<h3>Examples</h3>
<p>
（１）　あいつが大学に<em>入ろうが入るまい</em>が、俺とは関係ないよ。
<br /> - Whether that guy is going to college or not, it has nothing to do with me.
</p>
<p>（２）　時間が<em>あろうがあるまい</em>が、間に合わせるしかない。
<br /> - Whether there is time or not, there's nothing to do but make it on time.
</p>
<p>（３）　最近のウィルスは強力で、プログラムを<em>実行しようがしまいが</em>、ページを見るだけで感染するらしい。
<br /> - The viruses lately have been strong and whether you run a program or not, I hear it will spread just by looking at the page.
</p>

<h2 id="part4.adv_volitional.html">Using 「であろう」 to express likelihood</h2>
We already found out that the negative volitional can be used as kind of a formal version of
<a href="certainty.html#part3.adv_volitional.html">「でしょう」</a> and <a href="certainty.html#part4.adv_volitional.html">「だろう」</a>. You may wonder, how would you do the same thing for
the volitional? The answer is to conjugate the verb 「ある」 from the <a href="formal.html#part2.adv_volitional.html">formal state of being</a> 「である」 to the volitional to
produce 「であろう」. Remember 「でしょう」 can already be used as a polite form, so this form is even a step above that in formality. We'll see what
kind of language uses this form in the examples.

<div class="sumbox">
<span class="summary">Using 「であろう」 to express likelihood</span>
<ul>
<li>Attach 「であろう」 to the noun, adjective, or verb.
<br />例） 困難 → 困難<em>であろう</em>
<br />例） する → する<em>であろう</em></li>
</ul>
</div>

<h3>Examples</h3>
<p>
（１）　今後50年、人間が直面<em>するであろう</em>問題に正面から向き合って、自ら解決をはかりつつ、そのノウハウが次の産業となるシナリオを考えたい。(from <a href="http://www.jkokuryo.com/papers/online/20020107.htm">www.jkokuryo.com</a>)
<br /> - I would like to directly approach problems that humans have <em>likely encounter</em> the next 50 years and while measuring solutions, take that knowledge and think about scenarios that will become the next industry.
</p>


<p>
（２）　もちろん、生徒数減少の現在、学科の新設は<em>困難であろう</em>が、職業科の統廃合や科内コースの改編などで時代に合わせた変革が求められているはずである。(from <a href="http://www1.normanet.ne.jp/~ww100114/library/li-01.htm">www1.normanet.ne.jp</a>)
<br /> - Of course, new educational facilities will <em>likely be difficult</em> with this period of decreasing student population but with reorganizations of subjects and courses within subjects, there is supposed to be demand for reform fit for this period.
</p>

<h2 id="part5.adv_volitional.html">Using 「かろう」 as volitional for 「い」 endings</h2>
We learned in the <a href="formal.html#part3.adv_volitional.html">lesson about formal grammar</a> that 「ではない」 was the negative of 「である」. So how would we say something like
「であろう」 but for the negative tense? The answer is to use yet another type of volitional for negative tenses and i-adjectives used only in formal and literary contexts.
You can think of this grammar as a very old-fashioned version for i-adjectives and negative 「い」 endings.

<p>The conjugation rule is simple: remove the last 「い」 and attach 「かろう」. You can use it for negative tenses and i-adjectives just like the 「かった」 past conjugation
form.
</p>

<div class="sumbox">
<span class="summary">Using 「かろう」 to express volition for 「い」 endings</span>
<ul>
<li>Drop the last 「い」 and attach 「かろう」
<br />例）　ではな<em><strike>い</strike></em> → ではな<em>かろう</em>
<br />例）　早<em><strike>い</strike></em> → 早<em>かろう</em>
</li>
</ul>
</div>

<h3>Examples</h3>
<p>
（１）　どんな商品でもネットで販売するだけで売上が伸びるというもの<em>ではなかろう</em>。(from <a href="http://http://www.kojii.net/opinion/col010205.html">www.kojii.net</a>)
<br /> - It's not necessarily the case that sales go up just by selling any type of product on the net.
</p>

<p>
（２）　運動を始めるのが<em>早かろう</em>が<em>遅かろう</em>が、健康にいいというのは変わりません。
<br /> - Whether you start exercising early or late, the fact that it's good for you health doesn't change.
</p>

<p>
（３）　休日で<em>あろう</em>が、<em>なかろう</em>が、この仕事では関係ないみたい。
<br /> - Whether it's a holiday or not, it looks like it doesn't matter for this job.
</p>

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<div class="small" style="text-align:right;"><pre>This page has last been revised on 2005/4/27</pre></div>

<br class="break"/>
<h1>It's all covered here</h1>

<br /><br /><br />

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
<tr><td>
<div class="outline">
<!-- outline menu -->
<center><span class="summary">Outline</span></center>
<ol>
<li><a href="#part1.covered.html">Special Expressions for Coverings</a></li>
<li><a href="#part2.covered.html">Using 「だらけ」 when an object is riddled everywhere with something</a></li>
<li><a href="#part3.covered.html">Using 「まみれ」 to describe a covering</a></li>
<li><a href="#part4.covered.html">「ずくめ」 to express entirety</a></li>
</ol>
</div>
</td></tr>
</table>


<h2 id="part1.covered.html">Special Expressions for Coverings</h2>
This is a short lesson to cover several specialized expressions that describe the state of being covered by something. Mostly, we will
focus on the differences between 「だらけ」、「まみれ」 and 「ずくめ」.

<h2 id="part2.covered.html">Using 「だらけ」 when an object is riddled everywhere with something</h2>
「だらけ」 is usually used when something is riddled everywhere. It generally carries a negative connotation. As a result, you'll often see 「だらけ」 used with expressions like
「間違えだらけ」, 「ゴミだらけ」, or 「埃だらけ」. There is no conjugation rule to cover here, all you need to do is attach 「だらけ」 to the noun
that is just all over the place. You should treat the result just like you would a regular noun.

<div class="sumbox">
<span class="summary">Using 「だらけ」 to describe the state of being riddled everywhere by something</span>
<ul>
<li>Attach 「だらけ」 to the noun that is covering the object or place
<br />例）　間違え → 間違え<em>だらけ</em> (riddled with mistakes)
<br />例）　埃 → 埃<em>だらけ</em> (riddled with dust)
</li>
</ul>
</div>

<h3>Examples</h3>

<p>
（１）　このドキュメントは<em>間違えだらけ</em>で、全然役に立たない。
<br /> - This document is just riddled with mistakes and is not useful at all.
</p>

<p>
（２）　携帯を２年間使ってたら、<em>傷だらけ</em>になった。
<br /> - After using cell phone for 2 years, it became covered with scratches.
</p>

<p>
※Notice how the 「の」 particle is used to modify since 「だらけ」 functions like a noun.
</p>

<p>
（３）　この<em>埃だれけ</em>のテレビをちゃんと拭いてくれない？
<br /> - Can you properly dust this TV completely covered in dust?
</p>

<h2 id="part3.covered.html">Using 「まみれ」 to describe a covering</h2>
「まみれ」 may seem very similar to 「だらけ」 but there are some very important subtle differences. First, it's only used for
actually physical objects so you can't say things like 「間違えまみれ」 like you can with 「だらけ」. Plus, you can only use it for
things that literally cover the object. In other words, you can't use it to mean "littered" or "riddled" like we have done with
「だらけ」 So you can use it for things like liquids and dust, but you can't use it for things like scratches and garbage.

<p>The grammatical rules are the same as 「だらけ」.</p>

<div class="sumbox">
<span class="summary">Using 「まみれ」 to describe a covering by sticking</span>
<ul>
<li>Like 「だらけ」, you attach 「まみれ」 to the noun that is doing covering.
<br />例）　血 → 血<em>まみれ</em> (covered in blood)
<br />例）　油 → 油<em>まみれ</em> (covered in oil)
</li>
<li>You can only use 「まみれ」 for physical objects that literally covers the object.
<br />例）　間違え<em><strike>まみれ</strike></em> (not a physical object)
<br />例）　ゴミ<em><strike>まみれ</strike></em> (doesn't actually cover anything)
</li>
</ul>
</div>

<h3>Examples</h3>
<p>
（１）　彼は<em>油まみれ</em>になりながら、車の修理に頑張りました。
<br /> - While becoming covered in oil, he worked hard at fixing the car.
</p>
<p>（２）　たった１キロを走っただけで、<em>汗まみれ</em>になるのは情けない。
<br /> - It's pitiful that one gets covered in sweat from running just 1 kilometer.
</p>

<h2 id="part4.covered.html">「ずくめ」 to express entirety</h2>
The 「大辞林」 dictionary describes exactly what 「ずくめ」 means very well.
<p>
名詞およびそれに準ずる語句に付いて、何から何まで、そればかりであることを表す。すべて…である。
「うそ―の言いわけ」「いいこと―」「黒―の服装」「結構―」
</p>

<p>
In other words, 「ずくめ」 describes something that applies to the whole thing. For instance, if we were talking about the human
body, the expression "is [X] from head to toe" might be close to what 「ずくめ」 means.
</p>
<p>
In actuality, 「ずくめ」 is an expression that is rarely used and usually with a color to describe people
completely dressed in that color. For example, you can see what is meant by 「白ずくめの従業員」 in
<a href="http://mytown.asahi.com/wakayama/news01.asp?c=13&amp;kiji=283">this 朝日 article</a>.
</p>

<p>
Grammatically, 「ずくめ」 works in exactly the same ways as 「だらけ」 and 「まみれ」.
</p>

<div class="sumbox">
<span class="summary">Using 「ずくめ」 to describe something that applies to the whole thing</span>
<ul>
<li>Attach 「ずくめ」 to the noun that applies to the whole thing.
<br />例） 白 → 白<em>ずくめ</em>
<br />例） いいこと → いいこと<em>ずくめ</em></li>
</ul>
</div>

<h3>Examples</h3>
<p>
（１）　<em>白ずくめ</em>団体は去年ニューズになっていた。
<br /> - The organization dressed all in white was on the news last year.
</p>

<p>
（２）　女の子と共通の話題ができて、自分の体も健康になる。<em>いいことずくめ</em>ですよ。(from <a href="http://www.de-sire.net/food.html">www.de-sire.net</a>)
<br /> - A common topic to talk about with girls is able to be made and one's own body also becomes healthy. It's all good things.
</p>

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<p>
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<div class="small" style="text-align:right;"><pre>This page has last been revised on 2006/6/28</pre></div>

<br class="break"/>
<h1>And right after this...</h1>

<br /><br /><br />

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
<tr><td>
<div class="outline">
<!-- outline menu -->
<center><span class="summary">Outline</span></center>
<ol>
<li><a href="#part1.close_actions.html">Events that occur right after</a></li>
<li><a href="#part2.close_actions.html">Using 「が早いか」 to describe the instant something occurred</a></li>
<li><a href="#part3.close_actions.html">Using 「や／や否や」 to describe what happened right after</a></li>
<li><a href="#part4.close_actions.html">Using 「そばから」 to describe an event that repeatedly occurs soon after</a></li>
</ol>
</div>
</td></tr>
</table>

<h2 id="part1.close_actions.html">Events that occur right after</h2>
In this section, we will be covering some advanced grammar that describe an action that takes place right after something else has occurred.
I suggest you look over this section if you are really serious about completely mastering Japanese, or if you plan to take the level 1 JLPT exam, or
if you enjoy reading a lot of Japanese literature.

<h2 id="part2.close_actions.html">Using 「が早いか」 to describe the instant something occurred</h2>
The phrase 「が早いか」 is used to describe something that happened the instant something else occurred.

<p>
It is more common to use the word 「すぐ」 with the te-form of the verb to describe the same type of thing but 「が早いか」 has a more instantaneous
nuance. In addition, unlike 「すぐ」, which simply means "soon", 「が早いか」 has several distinct characteristics.
</p>
<p>First of all, this grammar is used to describe an action that immediately occurs as a direct result of the first verb
so it is unnatural to use this grammar for unrelated or naturally occurring events.
For instance, you would not use it to say, "It started raining the moment we went out" because it was going to rain whether or not you went out.
In addition, this grammar is only used for things that have actually occurred and therefore always employs the past tense.
<a href="http://www.nihongo2.com/dictionary/046.html">This site</a> gives a very detailed description of the particulars of this grammar.
</p>

<p>
To use this grammar, you attach 「が早いか」 to the first verb, then you describe the event that happened the next instant.
While it's conventional to use the non-past tense (dictionary form) for the first verb, you can also use the past tense.
For example, you can say either 「<em>言う</em>が早いか」 or 「<em>言った</em>が早いか」. The curious thing about this grammar is that the 「が」 particle comes right after the verb.
Remember, you can do this <i>only</i> with this specific grammatical phrase.
</p>

<div class="sumbox">
<span class="summary">Using 「が早いか」 to describe what happened the instant something occurred</span>
<ul>
<li>Attach 「が早いか」 to the non-past or past tense of the verb that just occurred
<br />例）　言う → 言う<em>が早いか</em>
<br />例）　言<em><strike>う</strike></em> → 言<em>った</em> → 言った<em>が早いか</em></li>
<li>You can only use this grammar only for events that are directly related.</li>
<li>You can only use this grammar only for events that actually happened (past tense).</li>
<li>Refer to <a href="http://www.nihongo2.com/dictionary/046.html">this site</a> for more details.</li>
</ul>
</div>

<h3>Examples</h3>

<p>
（１）　彼女は、教授の姿を<em>見るが早いか</em>、教室から逃げ出した。
<br /> - The instant [she] saw the teacher's figure, [she] ran away from the classroom.
</p>


<p>
（２）　「食べてみよう」と<em>言うが早いか</em>、口の中に放り込んだ。
<br /> - The instant [he] said "let's try eating it", he threw [it] into his mouth.
</p>

<p>
（３）　「食べてみよう」と<em>言ったが早いか</em>、口の中に放り込んだ。
<br /> - The instant [he] said "let's try eating it", he threw [it] into his mouth.
</p>


<h2 id="part3.close_actions.html">Using 「や／や否や」 to describe what happened right after</h2>
The 「や」 or 「や否や」（やいなや） phrase, when appended to a verb, is used to described something that happened right after that verb. Its meaning is essential the same as 「が早いか」.
It is also another type of grammar that is not really used in regular conversational Japanese.

<p>「否」 （read here as 「いな」） is a fancy Kanji for "no" used in words like 「否定」 and similar to 「不」. The literal meaning of this grammar is
"whether the action was taken or not". In order words, the second action is taken before you even take the time to determine whether the first event really happened or not.
</p>

<p>
You can use this grammar by attaching 「や」 or 「や否や」 to the dictionary form of the first verb that occurred. Since this grammar is used for
events that already have occurred, the second verb is usually in the past tense. However, you can use the dictionary tense to indicate that the events
happen regularly. <a href="http://www.nihongo2.com/dictionary/428.html">Refer to this site</a> to see more examples and details about this grammar.
</p>


<div class="sumbox">
<span class="summary">Using 「や／や否や」 to describe what happened right after</span>
<ul>
<li>Attach 「や」 or 「や否や」（やいなや） to the dictionary form of the first verb that occurred
<br />例）　見る → 見る<em>や</em>
<br />例）　見る → 見る<em>や否や</em></li>
<li>This grammar is almost always used for events that actually happened (past tense).</li>
<li>This grammar can be used with the present tense for regularly occurring events.</li>
<li>Refer to <a href="http://www.nihongo2.com/dictionary/428.html">this site</a> for more details.</li>
</ul>
</div>

<h3>Examples</h3>

<p>
（１）　私の顔を<em>見るや</em>、何か言おうとした。
<br /> - [He] tried to say something as soon as he saw my face.
</p>


<p>
（２）　搭乗のアナウンスが<em>聞こえるや否や</em>、みんながゲートの方へ走り出した。
<br /> - As soon as the announcement to board was audible, everybody started running toward the gate.
</p>


<h2 id="part4.close_actions.html">Using 「そばから」 to describe an event that repeatedly occurs soon after</h2>
「そばから」 is yet another grammar that describes an
event that happens right after another.  However, unlike the expressions we have covered so far, 「そばから」 implies that the
events are a recurring pattern. For example, you would use this grammar to express the fact that you just clean and clean your room only for
it to get dirty again soon after.

<p>
Besides this difference, the rules for using this expression are exactly the same as 「が早いか」 and 「や否や」. Just attach 「そばから」 to the
dictionary form of the first verb that occurred. The past tense, though rare, also appears to be acceptable. However, the event that immediately follows
is usually expressed with the non-past dictionary form because this grammar is used for repeated events and not a specific event in the past.
You can take a look at <a href="http://www.nihongo2.com/dictionary/127.html">this site</a> for more details and examples.
</p>

<div class="sumbox">
<span class="summary">Using 「そばから」 to describe an event that repeatedly occurs soon after</span>
<ul>
<li>Attach 「そばから」 to the dictionary form of the first verb that occurred
<br />例） 読む → 読む<em>そばから</em>
<br />例） する → する<em>そばから</em></li>
<li>This grammar implies that the events occur repeatedly.</li>
<li>Refer to <a href="http://www.nihongo2.com/dictionary/127.html">this site</a> for more details.</li>
</ul>
</div>

<h3>Examples</h3>

<p>
（１）　子供が掃除<em>するそばから</em>散らかすから、もうあきらめたくなった。
<br /> - The child messes up [the room] (repeatedly) as soon as I clean so I already became wanting to give up.
</p>


<p>
（２）　教科書を<em>読んだそばから</em>忘れてしまうので勉強ができない。
<br /> - Forget (repeatedly) right after I read the textbook so I can't study.
</p>

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<div class="small" style="text-align:right;"><pre>This page has last been revised on 2006/6/28</pre></div>

<br class="break"/>
<h1>Some other stuff</h1>

<br /><br /><br />

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
<tr><td>
<div class="outline">
<!-- outline menu -->
<center><span class="summary">Outline</span></center>
<ol>
<li><a href="#part1.othergrammar.html">Other Grammar</a></li>
<li><a href="#part2.othergrammar.html">Using 「思いきや」 to describe something unexpected</a></li>
<li><a href="#part3.othergrammar.html">Using 「～がてら」 to do two things at one time</a></li>
<li><a href="#part4.othergrammar.html">Using 「～あげく（挙句）」 to describe a final result</a></li>
</ol>
</div>
</td></tr>
</table>

<h2 id="part1.othergrammar.html">Other Grammar</h2>
Oh my goodness, we've come at last to the end of the guide! Hopefully, you've managed to get a good grasp of how grammar works in Japanese
and how to use them to communicate your thoughts in the Japanese way. In this final section, we'll be covering some left-over grammar that I couldn't fit into a
larger category. Don't worry, this won't be the absolute end as there will be an additional miscellaneous section that will contain all sorts of useful information about other various
aspects of the language.

<h2 id="part2.othergrammar.html">Using 「思いきや」 to describe something unexpected</h2>
This is a grammar I learned out of a book and was surprised to actually hear it used in real life on a number of occasions.
You use this grammar when you think one thing, but much to your astonishment, things actually turn out to be very different. You use it in the
same way as you would express any thoughts, by using the <a href="quotation.html#part3.othergrammar.html">quotation 「と」</a> and 「思う」.
The only difference is that you use 「思いきや」 instead of 「思う」. There is no tense in 「思いきや」, or rather, since the results have already
went against your expectations, the original thought is implicitly understood to be past tense.

<div class="sumbox">
<span class="summary">Using 「思いきや」 to describe something unforeseen or unexpected</span>
<ul>
<li>Attach 「思いきや」 to the thought using the <a href="quotation.html#part3.othergrammar.html">quotation 「と」</a>.
<br />例）　ある → ある<em>と</em> → あると<em>思いきや</em></li>
</ul>
</div>

<h3>Examples</h3>

<p>
（１）　昼間だから絶対<em>込んでいると思いきや</em>、一人もいなかった。
<br /> - Despite having thought that it must be crowded since it was afternoon, (surprisingly) not a single person was there.
</p>

<p>
（２）　このレストランは<em>安いと思いきや</em>、会計は5千円以上だった！
<br /> - Thought this restaurant would be cheap but (surprisingly) the bill was over 5,000 yen!
</p>

<h2 id="part3.othergrammar.html">Using 「～がてら」 to do two things at one time</h2>
This rather formal and seldom-used grammar is used to indicate that two actions were done at the same time.
The nuance is a bit difference from <a href="timeaction2.html#part4.othergrammar.html">「ながら」</a> in that some or all of the time spent on doing one
action was also used to do another action as an aside. Remember, 「ながら」 is used to describe two exactly concurrent actions.

<p>
The interesting thing about this grammar is that no verb is required. You can just attach it a noun, and the verb "to do" is inferred. For instance, "while taking a stroll"
can simply be expressed as 「散歩<em>がてら</em>」. In the case where you want to employ a different verb, you also have the option of attaching 「がてら」 to the
stem similar to the <a href="timeaction2.html#part4.othergrammar.html">「ながら」</a> usage. In addition, the verb or noun that is accompanied by 「がてら」 is the
main action while the following action is the one done on the side.
<a href="http://www.nihongo2.com/dictionary/038.html">Refer to this site</a> to see more examples and details about this grammar.
</p>


<div class="sumbox">
<span class="summary">Using 「～がてら」 to do two things at one time</span>
<ul>
<li>Attach 「がてら」 to the noun or verb stem of the main action. In case of a noun, the verb 「する」 is inferred.
<br />例）　散歩 → 散歩<em>がてら</em>
<br />例）　作る → 作<em>り</em> → 作り<em>がてら</em></li>
<li>Refer to <a href="http://www.nihongo2.com/dictionary/038.html">this site</a> for more details.</li>
</ul>
</div>

<h3>Examples</h3>

<p>
（１）　散歩<em>がてら</em>、タバコを買いに行きました。
<br /> - While taking a stroll, I also used that time to buy cigarettes.
</p>


<p>
（２）　博物館を<em>見がてら</em>に、お土産を買うつもりです。
<br /> - While seeing the museum, I plan to also use that time to buy souvenirs.
</p>


<h2 id="part4.othergrammar.html">Using 「～あげく（挙句）」 to describe a bad result</h2>
「あげく」 is a grammar used to describe a result, usually negative, that came about after a great deal of effort.
The rule for this grammar is very simple. You modify the verb or noun that was carried out with 「あげく」 and then describe
the final result that came about from that verb or noun. Because this grammar is used to describe a result from an
action already completed, it is used with the past tense of the verb.
「あげく」 is essentially treated the same as any noun. In other words, you would need the 「の」 particle to modify another noun.

<p>「あげくの果て」 is another stronger version of this grammar.
<a href="http://www.nihongo2.com/dictionary/002.html">Refer to this site</a> to see more examples and details about this grammar.</p>


<div class="sumbox">
<span class="summary">Using 「～あげく」 to describe a final result</span>
<ul>
<li>Attach 「あげく」 to the verb or noun created the end result （「の」 particle is required for nouns）
<br />例） けんか → けんか<em>のあげく</em>
<br />例） 考えた → 考えた<em>あげく</em></li>
<li>Refer to <a href="http://www.nihongo2.com/dictionary/002.html">this site</a> for more details.</li>
</ul>
</div>

<h3>Examples</h3>
The brackets show what is being implied by the grammar.
<p>
（１）　事情を2時間かけて説明をした<em>あげく</em>、納得してもらえなかった。
<br /> - [After a great deal of] explaining the circumstances for 2 hours, [in the end], couldn't receive understanding.
</p>


<p>
（２）　先生と相談の<em>あげく</em>、退学することにした。
<br /> - [After much] consulting with teacher, [in the end], decided on dropping out of school.
</p>

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<div class="small" style="text-align:right;"><pre>This page has last been revised on 2005/7/12</pre></div>

<br class="break"/>
<h1>And now for something... completely different</h1>

<br /><br />

<h2>Miscellaneous Topics</h2>
Now that we've covered just about every type of grammar we'll ever need, it's time to cover some other related topics. In this section, we will cover
various related topics that don't exactly fit into the conventional grammar education. Take a look, you'll likely find things that are very useful for mastering Japanese.

<div class="sumbox">
<div class="outtitle">Lessons covered in this section</div>

<ul>
<li><a href="casual.html">Casual Patterns and Slang</a> - While it's nearly impossible to cover all the different types of slang in Japanese, this lesson will cover some of the larger common
patterns or themes.
</li>
<li>Kansai Dialect - We will go over some of the fundamental differences in grammar and word endings that are used in Kansai dialect, the second-most widely
used dialect in Japan.</li>
<li>Various Conjugation Charts - A handy reference of charts for various conjugations covered throughout this guide.</li>
</ul>
</div>

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<div class="small" style="text-align:right;"><pre>This page has last been revised on 2006/9/18</pre></div>

<br class="break"/>
<h1>Yo, what up with the slang?</h1>

<br /><br /><br />

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
<tr><td>
<div class="outline">
<!-- outline menu -->
<center><span class="summary">Outline</span></center>
<ol>
<li><a href="#part1.casual.html">Casual Patterns and Slang</a></li>
<li><a href="#part2.casual.html">Basic Principles of Slang</a></li>
<li><a href="#part3.casual.html">Sentence ordering and particles (or the lack thereof)</a></li>
<li><a href="#part4.casual.html">Using 「じゃん」 instead of 「じゃない」 to confirm</a></li>
<li><a href="#part5.casual.html">Using 「つ」 for 「という」</a></li>
<li><a href="#part6.casual.html">Using 「ってば」 and 「ったら」to show exasperation</a></li>
<li><a href="#part7.casual.html">Using 「なんか」 just about everywhere</a></li>
<li><a href="#part8.casual.html">Showing contempt for an action with 「～やがる」</a></li>
</ol>
</div>
</td></tr>
</table>

<h2 id="part1.casual.html">Casual Patterns and Slang</h2>
So far, for every grammar we have covered, we also went over all the casual variations as well. However, even though we have already covered all the casual forms, truly mastering casual speech in Japanese requires far more than just learning the various casual forms. There are countless numbers of ways in which wordings and pronunciations change as well as differences between male and female speech. Understanding slang also requires knowing various vocabulary that is also growing with every new generation. Many adults would be hard-pressed to understand the kind of slang being used by kids today.

<p>While comprehensively covering slang and relevant vocabulary would require a book in and of itself (a book that would soon become out of date), I'll instead cover some broad patterns and common phenomenon which will at least help you get started in understanding the most common aspects of Japanese slang. There is no particular order in the material presented here and I expect this page to grow continuously as I find different things to cover.</p>

<p>Please note that slang is also heavily influenced by local dialects. Although all the material presented here is valid for the greater Tokyo area, your mileage may vary depending on where you are located. <!--TODO: comment out once section is finished: For people in the Kansai region, I suggest taking a look at the [[Kansai Dialect|next section]], which describes the Kansai dialect.--></p>

<h2 id="part2.casual.html">Basic Principles of Slang</h2>

<p>In the world of slang, anything goes and rules that apply to written Japanese are often broken. The most difficult part is that, of course, you can't just say whatever you want. When you break the rules, you have to break it the correct way. Taking what you learned from textbooks or Japanese classes and applying it to the real world is not so easy because it is impossible to teach all the possible ways things can get jumbled up in the spoken language. Learning how to speak naturally with all the correct idiosyncrasies  and inconsistencies in a language is something that requires practice with real people in real-world situations. In this section, we'll look at some common patterns and themes that will at least help you get an idea of where the majority of slang originates from.</p>

<p>One thing you'll soon realize when you first start talking to Japanese people in real life is that many sounds are slurred together. This is especially true for males. The fact is voices in instructional material such as language tapes often exaggerate the pronunciation of each letter in order to make aural comprehension easier. In reality, not all the sounds are pronounced as clearly as it should be and things end up sounding different from how it's written on paper. </p>

<p>There is one major driving factor behind the majority of slang in Japanese. The primary goal of most slang is to make things easier to say. In other words, the goal is to reduce or simplify the movement of your mouth. There are two primary ways in which this is accomplished, 1) By making things shorter or, 2) By slurring the sounds together. We have already seen many examples of the first method such as shortening 「かもしれない」 to 「かも」 or preferring 「と」 to the longer conditional forms. The second method makes things easier to say usually by substituting parts of words with sounds that fit better with the sounds surrounding it or by merging two or more sounds together. For example, the same 「かもしれない」 might be pronounced 「かもしんない」 since 「しん」 requires less movement than 「しれ」.</p>

<center>
<table class="note">
<tr><td><em>The fundamental goal of slang is to reduce mouth movement</em></td></tr>
</table>
</center>

<p>Let's see some more examples of words that get shortened or slurred. Try saying both versions to get a feel for how the slang saves space and some calories for your mouth.</p>

<h3>Examples</h3>

<p>
（A）　ここはつまらないから私の家に行こう。
<br />
（B）　ここ<em>つまんない</em>から、<em>私んち</em>行こう。
</p>

<p>
（A）　まったく、いつまでこんなところで、ぐずぐずするんだよ。
<br />
（B）　<em>ったく</em>、いつまでこんな<em>とこ</em>で、ぐずぐずすんだよ。
</p>

<p>You'll see that a great deal of slang in Japanese stems from this single principle of making things easier to say. It's very natural because it's guided by how your mouth moves. With a fair amount of practice, you should be able to naturally pick up shorter, alternative pronunciations and incorporate them into your own speech.</p>

<h2 id="part3.casual.html">Sentence ordering and particles (or the lack thereof)</h2>
While written Japanese already has fairly loose rules regarding sentence order, casual spoken Japanese takes it one step further. A complete sentence requires a verb at the end of the sentence to complete the thought. However, we'll see how this rule is bent in casual conversations.

<p>Conversations are sporadic and chaotic in any language and it's common for people to say the first thing that pops into their head without thinking out the whole proper sentence.</p>

For example, if you wanted to ask what something was, the normal, proper way would be to ask, 「それは何？」 However, if the first thing that popped into your head, "What the?" then it would be more natural to say 「何」 first. However, since 「何はそれ？」 doesn't make any sense (Is what that?), Japanese people simply break it up into what are essentially two sentence fragments asking "what" first （何？）, and then following it up with the explanation of what you were talking about （「それ」 in this case）.  For the sake of convenience, this is lumped into what looks like one sentence.

<h3>Examples</h3>

<p>
（A） それは何？ <br />- What is that?
</p>
<p>
（B） 何それ？ <br />- What? That. (Two sentences lumped into one)
</p>

<p>Sometimes, the first thing that pops into your head might be main verb. But if the main verb has already slipped out of your mouth, you're now left with the rest of the sentence without a verb to complete the thought. In conversational Japanese, it's perfectly acceptable to have the verb come first using the same technique we just saw by breaking them into two sentences. The second sentence is incomplete of course, but that kind of thing is common in the speech of any language.</p>

<p>
（１） 見た？ あの人？<br />- Did you see? That guy?
</p>
<p>
（２） もう食べた？昨日買ったアイス。<br />- You ate it already? The ice cream I bought yesterday.
</p>

<h2 id="part4.casual.html">Using 「じゃん」 instead of 「じゃない」 to confirm</h2>
<p>「じゃん」 is an abbreviation of 「じゃない」, the negative conjugation for nouns and na-adjectives. However, this only applies to 「じゃない」 used in the following fashion.</p>

<p>
（１） サラリーマンだから、残業はたくさんするん<em>じゃない</em>？
<br />-Because he’s a salaryman, doesn’t he do a lot of overtime?
</p>

<p>The important thing to note about the example above is that 「じゃない」 here is actually confirming the positive. In fact, a closer translation is, “Because he’s a salaryman, he <i>probably does</i> a lot of overtime.” But it’s still a question so there’s a slight nuance that you are seeking confirmation even though you are relatively sure.</p>
<p>「じゃん」 is a shorter slang for expressing the same type of thing except it doesn’t even bother to ask a question to confirm. It’s completely affirmative in tone.</p>
<p>In fact, the closest equivalent to 「じゃん」 is 「じゃない」 used in the following fashion.</p>

<p>（２） まあ、いいじゃない。<br />
- Well, it’s probably fine (don’t you think?).</p>

<p>This type of expression is the <b>only</b> case where you can attach 「じゃない」 directly to i-adjectives and verbs. Once you actually hear this expression in real life, you’ll see that it has a distinct pronunciation that is different from simply using the negative. Plus, you have to realize that this type of 「じゃない」 sounds rather mature and feminine, unlike 「じゃん」, which is gender-neutral.</p>

<p>Like the above, specialized use of 「じゃない」, you can also attach 「じゃん」 directly to verbs and i-adjectives as well as the usual nouns and na-adjectives. Because slang is usually created to make things easier, it’s not surprising that the rules for using 「じゃん」 are so lax and easy.</p>

<div class="sumbox">
<span class="summary">Summary</span>
<ul>
<li>Though derived from 「じゃない」, 「じゃん」 is always used to confirm the positive.</li>
<li>It can be attached to the end of any sentence regardless of whether it ends in a noun, adjective, verb, or adverb.</li>
</ul>
</div>

<p>Finally, let’s get to the examples. Hopefully, you can see that 「じゃん」 is basically saying something along the lines of, “See, I’m right, aren’t I?”</p>

<h3>Examples</h3>
<p>（１） ほら、やっぱりレポートを書かないとだめ<em>じゃん</em>。<br />
-See, as I thought, you have to write the report.</p>
<p>（２） 誰もいないからここで着替えてもいい<em>じゃん</em>。<br />
-Since there’s nobody, it’s probably fine to change here.</p>

<p>
（A） たかし君は、ここにいる？ - Is Takashi here?<br />
（B） 知らない。- Dunno.<br />
（A) あっ！やっぱ、いる<em>じゃん</em>！- Ah! See, he is here!
</p>

<p>There’s also another variation, which attaches the question marker as well. The meaning is mostly the same but it adds more to the questioning, confirming tone.</p>

<p>
（A) 駅の近くにカラオケがある<em>じゃんか</em>。- There’s a karaoke place near the station, right?<br />
（B) うん。- Yeah.<br />
（A) あそこのすぐ隣だ。- It’s right next to there.
</p>

<h2 id="part5.casual.html">Using 「つ」 for 「という」</h2>
As we learned in the <a href="define.html">defining and describing</a> section, 「いう」 serves many more functions than the equivalent English verb, "to say". It is used all the time and therefore, it's not too surprising that a number of variations and slang have developed. Here's one more that I felt was too "slangy" to cover so early at that point of the guide.

<p>This may sound hard to believe but if you really slur 「という」 together, it becomes something resembling 「つ」. Or least, that's what somebody thought when he or she began replacing 「という」 with 「つ」 or in some case 「つう」.
</p>

<p>Now, in my opinion, 「つ」 is a lot harder to say than 「という」 so using it like a native might take a bit of practice. Rather than making things easier to say, as is usually the case, the real purpose of this substitution is to sound rougher because 「つ」 has a harder, hissing sound. This is ideal for when you're pissed or for that young and rough image you've always wanted. As you might expect, this type of speech is usually used by males or very tough females.
</p>

<h3>Examples</h3>
<p>
（１） <em>つうか</em>、なんでお前がここにいんのよ！
<br />-Or rather, why are you here?!
</p>

<p>
（２） 宿題で時間がない<em>つって</em>んのに、みきちゃんとデートしにいったらしい。
<br />-Although he's saying he doesn't have time due to homework, I hear he went on a date with Miki-chan.
</p>

<p>
（３） 明日は試験だぞ。<em>つっても</em>、勉強はしてないだろうな。
<br />-Yo, tomorrow's the test. Even if I say that, you probably didn't study anyway, huh?
</p>

<p>
（４） だから、違うんだ<em>つう</em>の！
<br />-Like I said, you're wrong!
</p>

<p>If you want even more emphasis, you can even add a small 「つ」. This usually means you are really at the brink of your patience.</p>

<p>
（４） だから、違うんだ<em>っつう</em>の！
<br />-Like I said, you're wrong!
</p>

<h2 id="part6.casual.html">Using 「ってば」 and 「ったら」to show exasperation</h2>
「ってば」 and 「ったら」 is yet another type of abbreviation for 「という」 similar to 「って」 as discussed in the <a href="define.html#part5.casual.html">defining and describing</a> section. In this case, it's an abbreviation of the conditional form of 「という」, which is 「といえば」 and 「といったら」. By using this abbreviation, you are essentially saying something along the lines of, "If I told you once, I told you a million times!" You can use this expression when you tired of repeating yourself or when you are exasperated with somebody for not listening to you.

<h3>Examples</h3>
<p>
１） もう行くっ<em>てば</em>！
<br />-I told you I'm going already!
</p>
<p>
２） あなた<em>ったら</em>、いつも忘れるんだから。
<br />-You're always forgetting.
</p>

<h2 id="part7.casual.html">Using 「なんか」 just about everywhere</h2>
By now, you're probably aware that 「何」 can be either read as 「なに」 or 「なん」 depending on what comes after it such as 「何色」（なにいろ） versus 「何人」（なんにん）. In the case of 「何か」, while 「なにか」 is the correct reading, it is often contracted to just 「なんか」 in casual speech.

<p>
（A） <em>なにか</em>食べる？
<br />-Eat something?
</p>
<p>
（B） <em>なんか</em>食べる？
<br />-Eat something?
</p>

However, 「なんか」 also has a function similar to the word "like" in English. By "like", I'm not talking about the actual word but the kind that has no meaning and some people use just about anywhere in the sentence. Similarly, 「なんか」 can also be used as a filler without any actual meaning. For instance, take a look at the example below.

<p>
１） 今日は、<em>なんか</em>忙しいみたいよ。
<br />-I guess he's like busy today.
</p>

<p>While 「なんか」 is a shorter version of 「なにか」, only 「なんか」 can be used in this way as a filler.</p>

<p>
誤） 今日は、<em><strike>なにか</strike></em>忙しいみたいよ。
<br />-（「なにか」 cannot be used as a filler word.）
</p>

<p>Let's take a look at a few more examples.</p>

<h3>Examples</h3>
<p>
１） <em>なんか</em>ね。お風呂って超気持ちいいよね！
<br />-Like, baths feel really good, huh?
</p>

<p>
２） お母さんが、<em>なんか</em>明日まで戻らないんだってよ。
<br />-Mom said she's not coming back until like tomorrow.
</p>

<p>
３） <em>なんか</em>さ。ボブは、私のこと<em>なんか</em>本当に好きかな？
<br />-Hey like, do you really think that Bob likes somebody like me?
</p>

<h2 id="part8.casual.html">Showing contempt for an action with 「～やがる」</h2>
「やがる」 is a verb suffix used to indicate hatred or contempt for the person doing the action. Unlike the rest of the slang covered here, this extremely strong language is <b>not</b> used in normal, everyday conversations. You will probably never hear this expression outside of movies, comic books, games, and the like. However, it is covered here so that you can understand when it is used in those mediums.

<p>In order to use 「やがる」, you simply attach it to the stem of the verb. After that, 「やがる」 conjugated just like a regular u-verb.</p>

<h3>Examples</h3>
<p>
１） あんなやつに<em>負けやがって</em>。じゃ、どうすんだよ？
<br />-Losing to a guy like that. Well, what are you going to do?
</p>
<p>
２） やる気か？だったらさっさと<em>来やがれ</em>！
<br />-You want to fight? If so, then hurry up and come on!
</p>


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<Work rdf:about="">
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   <license rdf:resource="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.5/" />
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<License rdf:about="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.5/">
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   <requires rdf:resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/ShareAlike" />
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-->
<p class="copyright">Copyright &copy; 2003-2007 Tae Kim (taekim.japanese AT gmail.com)</p>
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<div class="small" style="text-align:right;"><pre>This page has last been revised on 2006/9/18</pre></div>

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